(Karachi) Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to operate flights to the Saidu Sharif Airport in Swat to boost tourism in the region, local media reported on Sunday.

As per details, the airport was closed in 2004 due to deteriorating law and order situation in the area. As part of the initiative, the national flag carrier will operate a test flight to the airport using an ATR aircraft in the last week of this month.

The authorities have completed the development work at the Saidu Sharif Airport and will be made operational soon.

Established in 1978, the airport, which handled two daily flights from Islamabad and Peshawar, was closed during militancy in Swat valley.