Pakistan flight operations to remain suspended till 12:00 am

ISLAMABAD: Flight operations across Pakistan will remain suspended till 12:00 am, said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday, amid soaring tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals stoked fears of a full-blown conflict. 

All the flights from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad have been cancelled, the CAA said in a statement.

The CAA closed airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan shot down two Indian Air Force planes in its airspace over Azad Kashmir. India too had shut down operations at various airports.

The air traffic disruption was affecting routes passing through the region that are popular with Western holidaymakers, with an industry body saying that a huge number of flights to Southeast Asia may have to be diverted.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded in Bangkok on Thursday after Thai Airways cancelled all flights over Pakistan.

Twenty-seven flights, the majority to and from European routes, have been cancelled, the Thai flag carrier said, with three passenger jets forced to return to Bangkok´s Suvarnabhumi airport on Thursday.

Thai Airways said nearly 5,000 passengers had been caught up in the cancellations.

"There are 4,000 from European flights and 700 to 800 from flights to Pakistan," a Thai Airways spokesperson said.

"We are waiting for permission to fly over other countries," she said, explaining Iran had rejected a request to fly over its airspace.

"Now we are contacting China," she added.