Special flight with 375 US citizens on board departs from Karachi airport
- By Salah Uddin -
- Apr 23, 2020
KARACHI: A charter flight of Omni Air International departed from Karachi airport after taking 375 passengers including US citizens and diplomatic staff on Thursday night, ARY News reported.
After getting permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), a special flight of Tulsa-based Omni Air International, NCB-375, was operated in Pakistan to repatriate US citizens.
Strict security arrangements were made as US citizens started gathering at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport to return home through a special flight.
The boarding process was completed under the supervision of the airport manager and US officials while all passengers underwent medical tests before departure. US consul-general was also present at the airport to see off the passengers.
Read: UK to operate special flights to repatriate citizens in Pakistan
The charter plane landed in Karachi at 9:00 pm today after taking flight from Bulgaria. The aircraft was bound to transport 375 passengers including US citizens and diplomatic staff. The Omni Air International plane took flight to the United States (US) at 10:00 pm.
It emerged that the aviation authority had permitted four charter flights to land in Pakistan on the request of the US Embassy in Pakistan.
A series of special flights are also continued to repatriate stranded Pakistanis in foreign countries amid suspension of flight operations due to coronavirus pandemic.
Read: PIA to operate 53 special flights from next week
Earlier in the day, a charter flight brought back 113 nationals from Bahrain which landed in Faisalabad.
Sources closer to airport authorities said that all passengers will stay in the isolation centre for the next 14 days until they cleared the coronavirus tests.
Moreover, the same flight took 33 passengers on board before departing back to Bahrain. It is pertinent to mention here that the aviation authority had allowed the special aircraft to fly in Pakistan’s airspace over the request of Bahrain consulate-general.