Smog disrupts flight operation in Punjab

LAHORE: The flight schedule has been disrupted due to smog and dense fog in Punjab, ARY News Reported on Friday.

As per details, reports indicated that 11 flights have been canceled, while 3 have landed at alternate airports.

A total of 53 flights, both domestic and international, experienced significant delays. The flight schedule indicates that PK 340 and 341 from Karachi to Faisalabad have been canceled.

Additionally, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights PK 322 and 323 from Lahore to Quetta have also been canceled. An international flight, V739 from Jeddah to Lahore, has been canceled as well.

Moreover, PIA flights PK 281 and 282 from Muscat to Sialkot have been cancelled. Four flights from Islamabad to Gilgit, PK 601, 602, 605, and 606, have also been cancelled.

Foreign Airlines flight QR 616 from Doha to Multan had to land in Islamabad and was later returned to Multan when the weather improved.

Also read: Rawalpindi district administration has launched operation to address air pollution

The Jeddah-Lahore flight, SV738, also landed in Islamabad. Flight PK-244 from Dammam to Sialkot has landed at Lahore airport.

Flight OD132 from Lahore to Kuala Lumpur was unable to take off until this morning where as, the Lahore-Bangkok flight TG346 also could not depart until this morning.

In the wake of smog, Punjab government earlier sealed dozens of shops, wedding halls and restaurants as authorities have intensified enforcement of early market closures at 8 p.m. to address smog issues.

According to details, 75 shops and several wedding halls sealed across Lahore for violating closing hours, while 14 restaurants were shut down for defying the ban on outdoor dining.

In Shalimar Tehsil, 9 shops and 3 restaurants were sealed for violations, while City Tehsil saw 4 shops sealed for staying open past designated hours.

In Ravi Tehsil, authorities sealed 12 shops, and in Raiwind Tehsil, 4 restaurants and 4 shops were closed for non-compliance.

Cantonment Tehsil saw 5 shops and 3 restaurants sealed, and in Saddar Tehsil, 5 shops were also shut down for breaching closing time regulations.