The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Lahore early on Sunday morning partially resumed flight operations at the Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIA) after being suspended for over 80 hours amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and India in the aftermath of Pulwama attack. A CAA spokesman said that domestic and international flight operations have been resumed at Lahore airport. All the airlines have been notified about the resumption of flight operations, he added.
Over 400 flights and 25,000 passengers were affected in the past four days due to the closure of Pakistani airspace after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two intruding Indian warplanes. The airspace had been closed due to the prevailing (security) environment, the DG ISPR had said.
A Notice to Airmen (Notam) issued by the CAA on Sunday said that flight operations to and from Lahore airport had resumed along existing routes. The notice said that flight operations at Lahore are expected to resume completely by March 8, 11:59pm (GMT). Flight operations at the other major international airports have returned to normalcy, it added.
On Friday, the CAA partially resumed operations for some international and domestic flights as thousands of passengers were left stranded worldwide after Islamabad shut down air travel following escalating tensions with India. Although flights had partially resumed at other major international airports in Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta on March 1, Lahore airport had remained closed.
"Flight operations to and from Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore resume under restricted airspace, along with existing NOTAM; please contact your airline for further details. Other airports in Gilgit Baltistan, Punjab & interior Sindh region remain closed," Twitted the CAA. However, the flight operation at Multan airport was yet to open for commercial flights till filing of this report.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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