Flight Operations
KARACHI: Pakistan has officially resumed its flight operations to and from the Gulf region after Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait reopened their airspace, aviation sources confirmed on Monday.
The restoration follows a temporary suspension of flights due to heightened regional tensions that had led to widespread disruptions across major airports in Pakistan.
The national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which had suspended Gulf-bound flights late Sunday night amid security concerns, has now resumed services. However, operational challenges remain, with significant delays and numerous cancellations still affecting air travel.
According to aviation officials, while flight operations have technically restarted, many flights are still facing departure delays ranging from five to thirteen hours. The overall schedule remains unstable, reflecting the broader impact of the regional airspace disruptions that reverberated across international carriers and domestic airports.
Flight data shows that a total of 32 flights scheduled from major Pakistani cities — including Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad — were cancelled. Notably, 14 of these were Qatar Airways services, reflecting the airline’s heavy reliance on Gulf transit routes.
In addition to these cancellations, approximately 55 flights, both incoming and outgoing, have been delayed at airports across Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and other cities.
Airline sources confirmed that, despite Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates not formally closing their airspace, numerous flights had to be rerouted to alternate destinations due to airspace constraints and regional safety considerations.
Bahrain and Kuwait were the first to resume normal operations, followed by Qatar later in the night, which allowed for a partial reopening of Pakistan’s outbound and inbound Gulf flight services.
Among the major disruptions:
- Eight outbound flights from Karachi to Jeddah, Doha, and Istanbul were cancelled.
- Two international flights from Karachi to Dubai were scrapped.
- Five flights from Lahore bound for Sharjah, Muscat, and Riyadh were cancelled.
- Qatar Airways cancelled two flights from Lahore, four from Islamabad, and four more from Peshawar and Sialkot.
- Five inbound flights to Peshawar and Abu Dhabi from Sharjah and Dubai also faced cancellation.
The ripple effects of these interruptions are still being felt, with major delays across routes. For instance, PIA flight PK 747 from Lahore to Madinah is experiencing a delay of 13 hours.
PK 247 from Lahore to Dammam is delayed by over 6.5 hours. Similarly, Qatar Airways flight QR 621 from Doha to both Karachi and Lahore is behind schedule by 10 hours.
PIA’s PK 233 flight from Islamabad to Dubai faces the longest delay so far, with a reported 15-hour holdup. Additionally, two Bahrain-to-Islamabad flights have been delayed by four hours.
While the reopening of regional airspace has allowed operations to resume, aviation officials caution that delays may persist in the short term as airlines recalibrate their schedules and passengers are accommodated. The situation continues to be monitored closely, with passengers advised to check the latest flight statuses before heading to airports.
