Pakistan reopens flight operation with partial restrictions

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday has announced that the flight operations at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta airports will resume at 6 pm today after a temporary suspension.

The flights in the country were suspended amid escalating military tensions with India.

According to a CAA spokesperson, flights to and from Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, and Karachi will resume under restricted airspace.

According to the CAA spokesperson, the decision regarding the resumption of flight operations at Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan airports will be taken at a later time.

Flight operations will remain suspended at Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan airports till 1 pm March 4, he added.

After the expiry of the previous Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), another one has been put in place till March 4 with a few exceptions.

“Flight operations only to/from Karachi International Airport, Peshawar airport, Quetta airport and Islamabad airport,” the notice states.

As per the notification, flight number WY-324 from Karachi to Muscat and flight EK-601 from Karachi to Dubai have been departed.

Pakistan International Airlines has also announced the resumption of its flight operations from 6 pm and according to reports said passengers are being informed of the schedule through phone calls.

Saudi Arabian Airlines has also confirmed that its first flight will arrive in Karachi at 6 pm.

It was announced yesterday by CAA that the country’s airspace would be temporarily restored for commercial aviation, following which Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) declared that it would resume some flights.

According to the Aviation tracking website, the closure of Pakistan’s airspace has affected 400 flights daily.
Flight radar tweet: The closure of Pakistani airspace has affected 400 flights daily, per Eurocontrol. The greatest impacts have been felt in Iran and Georgia/Azerbaijan. Southern India has also seen an increase in flights.