Islamabad: Authorities in Pakistan on Friday resumed flight operations from four main airports in the country — Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta.
A notification released by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed flight operations would resume on Friday, March 1 at 6pm local time.
The CAA requested the presence of all its staff upon resumption of flights.
A decision on Lahore airport was likely in the next 24 hours after “assessing the situation”, officials said.
Tens of thousands of passengers travelling by domestic and international flights were facing problems due to suspension of all commercial flights and closure of Pakistan’s air space in the backdrop of the tense Pakistan-India situation.
Pakistan had kept its airspace closed for a second day on Thursday amid tensions with its neighbour.
A number of international commercial flights had already suspended services to the country and flight-tracking portals showed many airlines were rerouting flights.
Thai flag carrier Thai Airways said nearly 5,000 passengers had been caught up in the cancellations.
“There are 4,000 from European flights and 700 to 800 from flights to Pakistan,” a Thai Airways spokesperson said.
“We are waiting for permission to fly over other countries,” she said, explaining Iran had rejected a request to fly over its airspace.
The decision to reopen Pakistani airspace came amid signs that the conflict between the two neighbours was cooling with an Indian pilot shot down and captured by Pakistani forces this week due to be returned home on Friday.
This week flights between Asia and Europe were severely affected by the closure, with thousands of passengers stranded, although airlines were later able to reroute many flights through China that normally pass over Pakistan.
