Citing the worsening security situation in the Middle East, especially the Persian Gulf region, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has halted its flight operations to a number of Gulf nations.
A PIA spokeswoman said that, till further notice, all flights from Pakistan to Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, and Qatar have been canceled. Following heightened military tensions between Iran and US soldiers stationed throughout Gulf nations, the action is a reaction to the region’s increasingly warlike situation.
Because of the circumstances in the Persian Gulf, PIA’s flying operations have been limited. The airline spokeswoman stated in a statement on Tuesday that the decision was made with the safety and security of our customers and crew in mind.
Reservations are being moved.
When operations restart, PIA’s reservation department will aggressively seek to rebook impacted passengers on other flights, as the airline has promised passengers. In order to receive timely updates on flight schedules and restart plans, the national carrier has also recommended that passengers stay in contact with the PIA hotline center.
The airline went on to say, “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these cancellations have caused, but passenger safety is our first priority.”
The airline explained that it will not resume its operations to the impacted Gulf states until the regional security situation has stabilized.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has rerouted a number of its flights to protect customer safety in the face of escalating Middle East tensions.
A flight from Islamabad to Dammam was canceled in the middle of its journey.
Flights from Sialkot to Madinah and Karachi to Madinah were also recalled to their starting locations.
- The flight PF 768 was diverted over the Gulf of Oman from Islamabad to Riyadh.
- Flight EY 295 from Karachi headed for Abu Dhabi was rerouted to Muscat.
- The Islamabad to Abu Dhabi flight EY 301 was diverted to Karachi.
- Karachi also saw the arrival of EY 288 from Lahore to Abu Dhabi.
- The Lahore-to-Muscat flight PF 732 was rerouted to Karachi.
- Due to airspace constraints, flight PA 274 from Islamabad to Riyadh had to be redirected.
- After being rerouted from Karachi, Gulf Air flight GF 753 from Bahrain touched down in Muscat.
Due to the increasing regional unpredictability, over ten planes have been rerouted to other airports. Authorities are keeping a careful eye on the situation and will start flying normally again as soon as it is safe to do so.
