RAWALPINDI: Due to the traffic mess and the closure of a U-turn at the Nur Khan Airbase Chowk on Airport Road, 59 passengers, including federal minister for religious affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousuf, could not reach Benazir Bhutto International Airport to catch a flight for Jeddah on time.

The Jeddah-bound PK-741 flight was also delayed by 50 minutes. When the passengers, who had already been checked in, started asking the reason for the delay in the flight, they were told by the airline management that there was some technical problem.

But a security official quoted the passengers as saying that it could be a VIP movement due to which the flight had been delayed.

It may be recalled that in September 2014, PPP senator and former interior minister Rehman Malik and PML-N MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar had to leave the airplane at the Karachi airport due to the passengers’ outrage for causing a delay to the departure of an Islamabad-bound flight.

On Monday, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also due to land at the airport at 11am for which the U-turn at the Nur khan Airbase Chowk was closed.

However, the chief minister used a helicopter to reach Islamabad from the airport.

When contacted, City Traffic Officer Shoaib Khuram Janbaz said the U-turn was temporarily closed on the arrival of the chief minister but the traffic was regulated through Rahimabad Bridge.

The CTO said the traffic police had no other option but to close the U-turn at Nur Khan Airbase Chowk to give a clear passageway to the VIP motorcade.

When PIA spokesman Hanif Rana was contacted, he said PK-741 for Jeddah was delayed for 50 minutes due to the late arrival of 59 passengers, including the federal minister for religious affairs.

He said the passengers could not arrive at the airport due to the closure of the road.

He said it was not possible to operate the flight on time without taking such a large number of passengers.

He disputed the reports that the flight was delayed due to the late arrival of the federal minister.

He said the flight took off at 9:55am.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2015

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