Foreign airlines directed to accommodate passengers, full ticket refunds

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued notices to five foreign airlines for causing inconvenience to the passengers by the cancellation of flights to Pakistan, ARY News reported on Friday.

The foreign airlines include Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai. The foreign air carriers operating in Pakistan have been given a deadline to resolve the issues of the passengers by July 8.

The CAA spokesperson said that the aviation authority reserved the right to take action against the airlines for causing inconvenience and financial losses to the passengers by flights’ cancellations.

READ: TWO INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES CANCEL US-PAKISTAN FLIGHTS AFTER CAA ADVISORY

Prior to the issuance of notices, the aviation authority took notice of the cancellation of flights by the foreign airlines after ARY News reported the troubles of the passengers who are willing to travel to Pakistan.

In the notice, CAA directed the concerned authorities to accommodate the affected passengers on the earliest possible flights of the same airlines or other airlines for travel to Pakistan besides providing hotel accommodation.

It also read that the tickets of the affected persons should be fully refunded in addition to the payment of compensation for the damages suffered by them.

READ: PAKISTAN ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR INT’L INBOUND FLIGHTS

It was learnt that the airlines were expecting relaxation from Pakistan about the number of onboard passengers, but after the latest CAA travel advisory, both the airlines suddenly cancelled their scheduled flights.

Reacting to the situation, the spokespersons of the CAA, said that both the airlines did overbooking on the Pakistan-bound flights.

It is to be noted that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday had issued a travel advisory for international flights amid the coronavirus pandemic, stating that only 20 flights would be operated in Pakistan till July 15.

The aviation authority stated in its latest order that 80 per cent of inbound international flights would be banned except the operations up to 20 per cent in accordance with the Summer 2021 schedule.