PESHAWAR, Dec 2: Pakistan International Airlines has removed war-risk charges - introduced after the Sept 11 incidents - from the passengers travelling on its domestic and international flights, official sources told Dawn on Saturday .

“War-risk charges have been removed from Dec 1, in line with the instructions issued by the federal government,” PIA spokesman Mohammed Latif told this scribe by telephone from Islamabad.

The airlines had introduced insurance/war-risk charges in the post-Sept 11 situation at the rate of Rs150 per passenger travelling on domestic route and five dollars per coupon for passengers travelling on international routes.

The national flag carrier’s booking staff said that in line with instructions issued by the PIA’s sales department, they stopped collecting war-risk charges from passengers from Dec 1.

Mr Latif said that the federal government had decided to do away with the war-risk charges in line with a recently taken decision of the International Air Travel Association (IATA).

However, war-risk charges on cargo would remain there as, said Mr Latif.

These, too, were likely to be removed in the near future as situation in the back drop of the United States airstrikes on Afghanistan was improving.