International flights still face problems caused by snowfall

Domestic flights continue to run smoothly, says PIA spokesperson.

KARACHI: Like many international airlines, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been adversely impacted as it copes with the record snowfall that has engulfed most of northern Europe.

Airlines continued to suffer on Wednesday as Europe slowly recovered from the challenges posed by such harsh weather.

A PIA flight, PK-734, had to leave for Milan and Paris from the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore on Wednesday but was delayed for 24 hours. Another flight, PK-787, that flew from Karachi managed to reach London safely.

Europe’s main airports have suffered badly during this cold wave as runways covered with ice have discouraged airlines to continue with their operations.

Mashhood Tajwar, the spokesperson for PIA, informed that long-distance flights have been hit hard in Europe while short duration flights are mostly on their schedule. “Our European operations are obviously long-distance flights and thus we have continued to suffer along with other international airlines,” he said, adding that the problems of airlines have started receding as weather improves gradually. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, some flights from Lahore airport were slightly delayed due to foggy weather conditions in the early hours of the day. Other than these 10-minute delays, PIA operations are running smoothly throughout the country, he added.

Airblue, a privately owned Pakistani airline, operates one flight a week to Manchester, UK and has also suffered as UK airports struggle to resume operations.

Travel Agents Association of Pakistan Chairman Rana Abdul Ghafoor Khan said that passengers who have no choice but to stay at airports have suffered the most in this crisis. “Nobody knows how long the weather conditions will persist, but airlines will suffer as they have to first clear their flight backlogs,” he added.

Meanwhile, the management of European airports is under pressure as hundreds of flights have been cancelled over the last few days. The management of Heathrow airport, one of the busiest airports of the world, is facing harsh criticism for not tackling the challenges in a timely manner and for the failure of its contingency plans for harsh weather.

Weather forecasts say that some parts of the UK may receive more snowfall over the next couple of days. Hundreds and thousands of air passengers are still stranded at international airports, especially in Europe, as many of them are travelling due to Christmas holidays.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2010.