PIA suspends flights to UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday suspended its flights to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar until Sunday evening or until the reopening of the respective airspaces, the national carrier announced.

The development came after Israel and US carried out attacks on Iran, and Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on regional bases.

Meanwhile, the PIA rerouted the flights to Saudi Arabia to avoid “conflict hit zones”.

Earlier during the day, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said the country’s airspace remained fully operational and safe for all flight operations, even as Iranian authorities temporarily closed Tehran’s airspace for several hours.

As per NOTAM A0715/26 issued by Iranian authorities, Tehran airspace was closed to civil aircraft today between 1130 - 1700 Pakistan Standard Time (PKT). “This daytime window generally sees limited east-west transit traffic,” PAA said.