Smoke rises above the rooftops of the city of Riyadh, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Photo: Reuters
LAHORE:
Air operations across Pakistan continue to be severely disrupted due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. Thousands of passengers are canceling their travel plans and airlines are suffering heavy financial losses, aviation industry sources said.
More than 90 flights were canceled on Monday from airports across the country, including Allama Iqbal International Airport, amid continued uncertainty in the region.
According to airport sources, more than 110,000 passengers traveling from Pakistan to countries like UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan have requested refund of their tickets due to the suspension of flights.
In the last 17 days alone, around 1,955 flights from Pakistani airports – including Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Peshawar and Quetta – were canceled, causing losses worth billions of rupees to domestic and international airlines. Travel agents also suffered losses amounting to millions of rupees.
Data shared with Express News by airlines and travel agencies indicates that the Iran-US conflict has pushed the aviation industry to the brink of crisis, with more than 55,000 flights canceled worldwide.
In a related incident, an Emirates flight (EK-623) from Lahore to Dubai was forced to return midway due to security concerns. The plane, carrying over 100 passengers, landed safely at the Lahore airport.
According to travel industry representatives, the crisis has seriously affected travel sector businesses.
Khawaja Ayub Naseem, leader of the Travel Agents Association, said travel agents usually earn between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 as service charges on each international ticket. However, the current wave of ticket refunds has wiped out revenue, with new bookings almost stopping.
He added that this period is normally marked by an increase in travel, with thousands of Pakistani expatriates returning home to celebrate Eidul Fitr with their families and Umrah pilgrims heading to Mecca, but the suspension of flights disrupted these plans.
Airport authorities said flights between Pakistan and several Middle East destinations, including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan, remained suspended and only a limited number of flights were operational.
However, flight operations continue to destinations including Saudi Arabia, Muscat, Europe, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, airport sources added.
