Qatar Airways temporarily suspends flight operation in Pakistan: sources

KARACHI- June 3, 2020: Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended its flight operations in Pakistan, citing sources, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had granted special permission to the Doha-based airline for landing in Pakistan. The foreign airline was operating flights in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.

The airline sources said that Qatar Airways suspended its flights to Pakistan due to unknown reasons.

The suspension of flight operations by Qatar Airways came at the time when the aviation authority held a meeting with the country managers of international airlines operating within Pakistan to seek suggestions pertaining to the resumption of international flights.

The meeting held at the CAA headquarters was chaired by the authority’s Additional Director General Air Vice Marshal Tanveer Bhatti where suggestions were sought from the officials of international airlines for resuming flight schedule.

The airlines’ officials were briefed on resuming 30 per cent international flight operations from the country. Suggestions were also sought from them for bringing passengers from abroad so that Pakistanis stranded abroad could be brought back home. The CAA directed international airlines to submit a flight schedule within two days.

It was also conveyed that there would be an hour gap between the landing of two international flights operated from the country’s airports while the gap between two flights for small planes would be upto 40 minutes. The CAA would convey the recommendations of the international airlines to secretary aviation for approval.