ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Saturday, directed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to bring back the Pakistanis stranded abroad on a priority basis.
He ordered PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Air Marshall Arshad Malik, to bring home Pakistanis from Gulf countries as soon as possible. Sources said that Umrah pilgrims and passengers with visas expiring soon would also be prioritised. After a brief hiatus, the national airline once again resumed its operation at four major airports on Saturday. Sources have relayed that PIA has re-initiated flight operations at Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta, while operation from Lahore airport will resume at 1 pm on Monday, March 4.
All leaves of the PIA staff have been cancelled as its chief executive officer is supervising the operations.
The Civil Aviation Authority officials claimed that as many as 36 local and international flights scheduled to depart from Lahore airport on Saturday were cancelled, while 38 flights scheduled to arrive at Lahore airport were also cancelled.
