Flight operations at some Pak airports resume partially

KARACHI: Pakistan’s aviation authority partially resumed operations for some international and domestic flights on Friday as thousands of passengers were left stranded worldwide after Islamabad shut down air travel following escalating tensions with neighbouring India.

Earlier in the day, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that flight operations at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta airports would resume at 6:00pm.

"Flight operations only to/from Karachi International, Peshawar International, Quetta International and Islamabad International airports with restricted entry/exit will be available with effect from 01st March 2019 time 13:00 UTC (18:00 PST)," said the CAA.

In a Notice to Airmen (Notam), the CAA said the country's airspace would remain closed for all other operations until 1:00PM local time on Monday, March 4 (08:00 UTC).

A CAA spokesperson said the airspace was "partially re-opened", adding that it would be fully restored by Monday. She said flights would be allowed in and out of Pakistan's major airports at Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta starting Friday, with the rest of the airspace to be re-opened "gradually".

In a tweet at 7:00pm on Friday, flight tracking website Flightradar24 said one international Emirates flight from Dubai could be tracked in Pakistani airspace. The live flight tracking website also showed at least four domestic flights in the country's airspace, indicating partial resumption of operations.

The decision to close airspace on Wednesday came after a rare aerial fight between Pakistan and India ignited fears of an all-out conflict, with world powers rushing to urge restraint. The airspace closure disrupted major routes between Europe and South Asia, with mounting frustration from passengers stranded at international airports.

Thai Airways cancelled nearly 30 flights, affecting 5,000 passengers. The decision affected services to London, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Stockholm, Zurich, Copenhagen and Oslo.

Singapore Airlines was also forced to divert Europe-bound flights to Mumbai and Dubai to refuel, while a flight to Frankfurt was cancelled. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Saudi Airlines, and Air Canada were all also among other carriers forced to cancel and divert flights.