Islamabad airport handles 450 evacuation flights from Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad International Airport had handled 450 evacuation flights from Afghanistan as the airport became the centre of the flight operation for coalition troops withdrawing from Kabul, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

ARY News acquired the statistics of evacuation flights at Islamabad International Airport that showed that the airport handled the flights of military and special commercial aircraft from Afghanistan.

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) is likely to witness increased revenue for providing assistance to the evacuations from Afghanistan through special flight operations.

It was learnt that 450 planes had landed and flew from Islamabad International Airport. The flights included planes of coalition forces and other airlines, whereas, seven aircraft of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also took place in the evacuations from Afghanistan.

READ: ISLAMABAD AIRPORT WITNESSES MORE THAN 20,000 AFGHANISTAN EVACUATIONS

26,000 foreigners had been transported to Islamabad from where they flew to different countries via special flights. The national carrier transported 1,460 Afghans and nationals to Pakistan.

The flight operation for evacuation of people stranded in Afghanistan in the aftermath of a Taliban takeover had been limited to Islamabad airport despite it was previously planned to be expanded to other three cities.

The evacuation flights for transit passengers from Afghanistan had been operated by the Islamabad airport only while the operation was suspended at Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar airports.