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Bahrain’s Gulf Air delays, cancels flights to Pakistan

Dubai - The passengers are to be transferred to next available flights after the opening of the Pakistan air space.

Bahrain-based long-haul carrier Gulf Air has acknowledged the cancellation and delaying of its flights.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the airline has announced the suspension of all flights to and from Pakistan. This is due to the closure of Pakistani airspace.
Passengers are advised to contact Gulf Air's Worldwide Contact Centre on 00973 17373737 before heading towards the airports to board their flights.
The airline has announced the cancellation of all flights to and from Islamabad, Multan and Lahore. The passengers are to be transferred to next available flights after the opening of the Pakistan air space.
Local media reported flight delays and cancellations on February 26 and 27 at the airline's main hub of Bahrain International Airport in Manama.
Gulf Air will inform the passengers about schedules for flights operating on February 28 after reexamining the situation at 3:00pm Bahrain time (12pm GMT).
Several airlines, including Emirates and Qatar Airways, suspended flights to Pakistan on February 27 after Pakistan closed its air space following heightened tensions with neighbouring India.
Qatar Airways said in a statement it has temporarily suspended flights to eight cities in India and Pakistan "due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border" and that its flights routed over the India-Pakistan air space may be delayed due to rerouting in the area.
Etihad, flydubai and SriLankan Airlines have also suspended services to the country and flight tracking portals showed Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others were forced to reroute flights.
Airlines flying over India and Pakistan to Europe, the Middle East and Asia were disrupted and some flights were routed through Mumbai on India's western coast, so they could head further south and avoid Pakistan air space, an Indian government official told Reuters.
Mark Martin, founder and chief executive at Martin Consulting India, said about 800 flights a day use the India-Pakistan air corridor, making it "very critical".
"You can't overfly China, so you have to overfly Pakistan and India and go to Southeast Asia and Australia. Most of the traffic destined for Bangkok and Singapore will have to fly over Iran and then possibly take a detour," he said.
International airlines that normally transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace have been forced to reroute, including flights by Singapore Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Aeroflot, and Air India, according to online portal flightradar24.com which tracks the movement of planes globally.
(With inputs from Bahrain News Agency)