The cancellations affected multiple destinations, including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi.
KARACHI/LAHORE:
Air operations between Pakistan and the Middle East suffered major disruption on Tuesday as at least 64 flights were canceled from major international airports across the country due to the evolving situation in the region.
According to aviation sources, the cancellations affected multiple destinations, including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi.
Karachi airport saw 20 flights cancelled, Islamabad 10, Lahore 16, Peshawar 10 and Sialkot eight. However, flight operations to the Middle East from Multan and Faisalabad remained normal.
Officials said flight cancellations between Pakistan and the Middle East had reached 1,687 in the past 18 days.
Meanwhile, airport sources reported that the total number of international flights canceled from eight major airports, including Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, was 101 on Tuesday alone.
In total, around 2,000 flights to and from Pakistan, covering the Middle East and other destinations, have been canceled in the last 18 days. In some cases, flights were forced to reverse mid-air or were unable to take off due to rapidly changing conditions.
Sources said escalating tensions between Iran and the United States had disorganized the entire regional air traffic system, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Special flights that had been launched from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to help stranded passengers were also suspended once again as the situation deteriorated.
On Tuesday, 101 outbound international flights were canceled from eight major airports, including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot.
Despite the cancellations, around 50 special flights from Middle Eastern countries landed at airports such as Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to help repatriate stranded passengers.
