ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed partial flight operations to Gulf countries after a temporary suspension caused by rising tensions in the region. The decision to resume was taken following the reopening of airspace by Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait after a brief closure.
Earlier, PIA had suspended flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Dubai as a precautionary measure due to security concerns after Iran launched a missile strike on a U.S. airbase in Doha. The incident severely affected air traffic across the Gulf, leading to large-scale cancellations, delays, and diversions.
Despite no official announcement from the UAE and Saudi Arabia regarding airspace closure, flights to and from cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, and Jeddah faced massive disruption. At Doha Airport alone, more than 200 flights were either diverted or delayed, with thousands of passengers stranded.
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Several major international airlines, including Air France, Air Canada, British Airways, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and EgyptAir, suspended operations to Gulf destinations. Turkish Airlines cancelled its flights to Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat.
The impact reached Pakistan as well, where PIA and other airlines diverted or returned at least 14 international flights heading to Gulf destinations from Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Some of these flights were landed at Muscat Airport, while around 30 scheduled departures from seven major airports across Pakistan were held for several hours.
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As Gulf airspace began reopening—especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where flight operations resumed within two hours—PIA announced the partial restoration of its operations. However, the overall flight schedule remains disrupted.
As of the latest update:
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55 flights from Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad faced delays.
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Eight PIA flights from Karachi to Jeddah, Doha, and Istanbul were cancelled.
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Two Dubai-bound flights operated by foreign airlines were also cancelled.
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In Lahore, five flights to Sharjah, Muscat, and Riyadh were cancelled.
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Five outbound flights from Sharjah to Peshawar, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi were also cancelled.
In addition:
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A PIA flight from Lahore to Madinah was delayed by 13 hours.
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Another flight from Lahore to Dammam was delayed.
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From Islamabad, a Dubai-bound flight faced a delay of 15 hours.
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Two Bahrain-Islamabad flights were delayed by over four hours.
A PIA spokesperson said that the flight suspensions and delays were necessary to protect passengers and crew. “Passenger safety remains our top priority,” the spokesperson added, while apologising for the inconvenience caused. PIA has advised passengers to check flight statuses through the PIA call centre, and its reservation teams are working to shift affected travellers to alternative flights.
