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A file photo of Islamabad International Airport. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has said that flight operations at Islamabad Airport will be suspended for two hours on March 17 (tomorrow) instead of March 16 (today).
Earlier today, the Authority said its previous Notice to Airmen (Notam) regarding the brief suspension of flight operations at Islamabad Airport on March 16 had been cancelled.
“The Notam precedent regarding temporary airspace restrictions in the Lahore Flight Information Region (FIR) and suspension of flight operations at Islamabad International Airport on March 16 (08:30 – 10:30 PKT) has been cancelled,” the PAA on X said.
“Normal operations will continue,” he said.
Later, the PAA in a Notam said that arrival and departure operations at Islamabad Airport would remain closed from 8:30 am to 10:30 am PKT on March 17.
It cited “operational reasons” and advised arriving planes to “bring sufficient reserve fuel to cope with the delay.”
These developments came against the backdrop of a regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, which has severely disrupted air operations in many countries, including Pakistan. Besides commercial flights, air cargo services have also been suspended.
Canceled flights
Around 80 flights to Gulf destinations were canceled on Sunday, bringing the total number of canceled flights to 1,576 in the last 16 days, according to sources.
According to air sources, Pakistan’s flight operations to the Middle East continue to be disrupted due to the developing situation in the region.
On Sunday, 80 flights scheduled from the country’s international airports to various destinations in the Middle East had to be canceled. The highest number of cancellations were reported at Karachi airport, where around 26 flights were unable to take off.
The canceled flights from Karachi were to Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, among other Middle Eastern cities.
Meanwhile, 18 flights were canceled at Islamabad airport and another 18 at Lahore airport, while 14 flights were canceled at Peshawar and four at Multan, sources said.
However, international flight operations from Sialkot and Faisalabad airports continued normally.
