CAA suffers loss of Rs3.6 billion amid coronavirus pandemic  

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suffered a loss of Rs3.6 billion in the month of March owing to suspension of flights to different counters amid coronavirus outbreak, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to details available with ARY News, as many as 1681 international and domestic flights were canceled during the month of March.

Around 212 flights were cancelled in the first 15 days of the past month, according to documentation released by CAA. The aviation authority has suffered a loss of Rs2723 million due to the flights’ suspension, landing and other charges.

The federal government on Wednesday had announced to extend suspension of domestic flight operation till the 11th of April.

A spokesperson of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said, “The government has decided to extend the suspension of all types of domestic scheduled, non-scheduled, chartered, private aircraft and general aviation operations till April 11.

However, the domestic flight operations to/ from Islamabad International Airport for Gilgit and Skardu Airports would continue as normal operations, he added.

Earlier on March 24, the government of Pakistan had decided to suspend all types of domestic flight operations at all airports across the country with effect from 6 pm on March 26 in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus,

The decision to halt domestic flight operations had come three days after the suspension of international flights to the country.

It is pertinent to mention here that the aviation industry was badly affected by the coronavirus outbreak across the world. Experts warned that most of the airlines will face bankruptcy by end of May owing to the deadly virus.