Qatar Airways announces flight cancellations until March 6; Srilankan Airlines resumes flights to Dubai
Jinnah Airport. Photo: PPI (archive)
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s international airports are experiencing widespread flight cancellations for the fifth consecutive day due to ongoing regional tensions in the Gulf, with a total of 578 flights to Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, canceled since March 28, with 162 flights canceled on Wednesday alone.
Affected airlines include Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, PIA, Air Blue, Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways. Sources report that 578 flights to Middle Eastern countries have been canceled from Pakistan airports in the last five days.
At Karachi airport, 40 flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Sharjah, Kuwait and Bahrain were cancelled. Islamabad airport recorded 38 cancellations to destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait and Sharjah. Lahore airport had 28 cancellations, Peshawar 24, Multan 18, Sialkot 8 and Faisalabad 6 flights were affected.
The United States and Israel launched joint attacks in Iran that killed 201 and wounded more than 700. Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, died while working at his central leadership compound, along with members of his family, including his daughter and grandchildren.
Iran has since attacked multiple US bases in surrounding Gulf states, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, causing several countries to temporarily close their airspace.
Read: Americans stranded in the Middle East are told not to rely on the US evacuation help line.
Qatar Airways also issued an update, confirming that its flight operations will remain suspended until March 6 due to the continued closure of Qatar airspace. Passengers will receive further updates on March 6 at 9:00 am
The airline added that operations will resume once airspace is safely reopened and advised passengers to check its website for the latest updates.
Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines resumed limited flight operations between Colombo and Dubai from Wednesday, following a suspension that began on February 28.
Flight UL231 will depart from Colombo to Dubai, while return flight UL232 will take passengers back to Colombo, the airline confirmed.
