UAE airlines resume flights to Pakistan

UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad have resumed operations to Pakistan, after services were cancelled since Wednesday due to political tensions.

Pakistan closed its airspace on Wednesday after an escalation in tensions with neighbouring India.

In addition to the existing NOTAM, PCAA has restored airspace with restriction for #Faisalabad International Airport.

Please check with your airline for further details on flight schedules, delays, changes or cancellations.

You can also reach LYP Airport @ 080000114. ?? pic.twitter.com/sp18RT5Ygz

— CAA Pakistan (@AirportPakistan) March 3, 2019

Dubai airline Emirates resumed flights to and from Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar on March 1.

On Sunday, the airline confirmed that flights to and from Lahore were also no longer affected by the closure, and will resume with immediate effect.

However, flights to/from Sialkot have been cancelled until March 4, it said.

Meanwhile Etihad Airways confirmed that all its flights to Pakistan have “returned to normal operations following the reopening of airspace for Pakistan bound/originating flights”.

The carrier also stated that services have been “upgraded to large aircraft where possible to accommodate previously disrupted guests.”

A few hours ago, Pakistan issued a Notam reopening Lahore to traffic with certain routing restrictions.

Notam details: https://t.co/9NeSPvrJtY

EK622 inbound to Lahore now: https://t.co/Z23Khz3wOw pic.twitter.com/LcTyxblOyP

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 3, 2019

Flydubai said its services to Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan will remain cancelled on Sunday, March 3 and Monday, March 4.

“Passengers booked to travel to and from Pakistan are advised to contact their travel agent or our contact centre in Dubai or Pakistan to rebook to a later flight or receive a full refund,” the airline said.

Flights to Karachi and Quetta will operate to schedule, flydubai added.

The closure of Pakistan’s airspace on Wednesday and Thursday disrupted thousands of flights worldwide, with passengers stranded in airports in several countries.