Special PIA flight to bring back Pakistanis from England after travel ban

KARACHI: After imposing a temporary ban on flight operations from the United Kingdom in the backdrop of a further viral form of COVID, the aviation authority of Pakistan has allowed Monday a Pakistan International Airlines chartered flight to fly back Pakistanis set to return home country amid the ban, ARY News reported.

The special flight set to repatriate Pakistanis in England has been approved by CAA hours after a temporary suspension was announced by the cabinet division in Pakistan following the detection of a mutated form of COVID strain.

Chartered flight Hi Fly HFM 702 will fly from Manchester to Islamabad bringing back Pakistanis who intend to return home with a condition that they had only landed in England within the past 10-day period from now.

The department of Air Transport of CAA has issued the notification to the effect and noted the chartered flight will board on Dec 23 (day after tomorrow) to depart for Islamabad.

All the passengers, CAA said, will be restricted to board keeping in mind the travelling conditions set in order by CAA.

READ: Pakistan temporarily suspends UK flights amid detection of new Covid strain

Earlier today, the Government of Pakistan declared a temporary suspension on all incoming flights from the United Kingdom for at least a week on the premise of new COVID strain detection in England which is ‘more transmissible than other previously known strains’.

“Direct or indirect travel from the UK would be temporarily suspended, starting 11:59 PM on 22nd of December 2020,” the press release on the new development read.