Eid Al Adha: Pakistan raises flight capacity to 50% from July 15

Dubai - The move is expected to allow the arrival of 2,500 to 3,000 passengers daily.

Pakistan has increased the capacity of inbound international flights to 50 per cent from July 15 to help repatriate overseas Pakistanis ahead of Eid Al Adha next week.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gave the go-ahead to national and foreign airlines to increase their Pakistan-bound flight operations as the pandemic situation improved globally following the rapid roll-out of the vaccination drive.

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“In view of the recent improvement in Covid-19 situation in various parts of the world, the Government of Pakistan has increased the international flight operations up to 50 per cent. This increase in flight schedule will be implemented with effect from July 15,” according to a Notice to Airmen (Notam) by Pakistan's CAA late Tuesday.

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The CAA had reduced the Pakistan-bound international flights to 20 per cent on May 2 due to the rise in Covid-19 cases.

"In view of a substantial drop in daily cases of Covid-19 in the world, NCOC has allowed the Civil Aviation Authority to increase the number of international flight operations up to 50 per cent with effect from July 15," an airline official told Khaleej Times.

The increase in capacity to Pakistan-bound international flights will help non-resident Pakistanis residing in the Gulf countries to book their flights to celebrate Eid with their families in the country.

-- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com