Limited domestic flights operation resumes

E-Paper | March 11, 2026

KARACHI: After having been suspended for nearly two months, a limited domestic flight operation began on Saturday from Karachi airport when two flights — one operated by the national carrier and the other by a private airline — left for Lahore and Islamabad, respectively.

The government had on Friday announced resumption of the domestic flight operations from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta airports due to growing demand and ease in coronavirus restrictions across the country.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Airport Security Force had made elaborate arrangements to ensure social distancing during boarding, check-in and disembarkation. It was mandatory for every passenger to wear mask while entering the airport.

In the aircraft, one seat each was left vacant between every two passengers.

The CAA said that the domestic flight operations would be expanded gradually. At present, on a weekly basis a total of 68 flights are scheduled to take off from Karachi airport, 32 each from Islamabad and Lahore airports, four from Peshawar and six from Quetta airport.

Before suspension of the domestic flight operations, 369 flights used to depart from Karachi to different parts of the country on a weekly basis.

Meanwhile, a PIA press release said that its domestic flight operations partially resumed from Karachi.

Flight PK-8304 carrying 84 passengers took off from the Jinnah International Airport and landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and returned to Karachi with 100 passengers as flight PK-8305.

“The PIA is strictly following government regulations of social distancing. Wearing masks and keeping space has been made mandatory for passengers during travel and their temperatures were checked before and after the flight,” the press release said.

It said both flights were supervised and managed by Karachi and Lahore Airport Station Managers, Ahmed Alam and Ali Asghar Zaidi, and their respective teams.

As per the CAA’s directives, all PIA aircraft were being thoroughly disinfected before departure of flights, it added.

The PIA will operate one daily flight on the Karachi-Islamabad-Karachi, and Karachi-Lahore-Karachi routes, whereas a weekly flight on Karachi-Peshawar-Karachi, Karachi-Quetta-Lahore routes and back i.e. Lahore-Quetta-Karachi.

Similarly, one flight per week for the sector Karachi-Quetta-Islamabad and back had also been scheduled for flight operations, it said.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2020

Coronavirus

Pakistan

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Ishtiyaq

May 17, 2020 08:01am

Pakistan

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khan

May 17, 2020 08:53am

An appropriate picture. We use 747s for domestic travel.

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Amir Indian

May 17, 2020 08:56am

Atomic energy The Indian finance minister said that the government will establish a research reactor in the PPP model for the production of medical isotopes to promote the welfare of humanity through affordable treatment for cancer and other diseases. She also said that they will be establishing facilities under PPP mode to use irradiation technology for food preservation. This will complement agricultural reforms and assist farmers. The government will link India’s robust startup ecosystem to the nuclear sector to foster synergy between research facilities and tech entrepreneurs.

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Bhaag Bharri

May 17, 2020 09:06am

Please resume international flights too. There are people who want to visit their loved ones, but because of flights and those poor quarantine centers we can't come.

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Bhaag Bharri

May 17, 2020 10:52am

Please resume international flights too. There are people who want to visit their loved ones, but because of no flights and those so called quarantine centers with poor facilities we can't come.

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Syed A. Mateen

May 17, 2020 12:53pm

By opening domestic flights, the govt. is not giving any favour to the passengers, as national airline instead of decreasing air fares between one city to another city after the oil prices have been decreased in international market, the govt. have in fact increased airfares by mani-folds and extracting hard earned money from such passengers who want to travel from one place to another place to spend Eid holidays with their parents and other family members without serving any meal. Leaving a passenger seat vacant in between three passengers seats is the requirement of maintaing social distancing, but why the passengers should bear the cost of maintaing social distancing as these are instructions of the govt. and not of the requirement of passengers when the temprature of each passenger is checked with thermal guns before boarding a flight. Had govt. opened bus service operating between cities much money could have been saved by the passengers when money is not changing hands any more

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Haris

May 17, 2020 01:33pm

@Syed A. Mateen, Thanks to our dearest 18th amendment, its not in hand of Fed. Govt. to dictate the matters pertaining to transportation as it falls under Provincial jurisdictions. But Center have already asked Provinces to open inter city bus and railway routes. Sindh is showing no interest but only today agreed to open it after Ramazan.

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Pshtoo

May 17, 2020 01:45pm

@Syed A. Mateen, FBR can collect Data of Passengers which in coming days will help in tax collection.

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M. Saeed

May 17, 2020 02:14pm

This is highly dangerous concession. Resumption of flights will fast track the spread of virus to all corners of the country.

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Aurangzeb

May 17, 2020 02:50pm

@Syed A. Mateen, Please have a look at the seating plan of the airlines where I do not see appropriate or one seat distance is being maintained. So air travel is at the passengers' risk. Besides that the airfares have been increased but about 40% of airfare is Government Tax so more than airlines it is government that needs to give a break to the passengers. It is besides the point to say that air travel sector was destroyed partially by PIA unions striking for no reasons and partially by unreasonably high taxes on air fares.

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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

May 17, 2020 03:09pm

Sooner or later it was going to happen because of centuries old economic principle of supply and demand.

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M. Saeed

May 17, 2020 03:44pm

@Aurangzeb, see the first flight operated by PIA from Karachi to Lahore. The whole plane of over 300 seats was operated with only 84 passengers with prescribed distance between them. And, the fares were 3 to 5 times higher than the normal.

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M.Sethi

May 17, 2020 06:02pm

Good move! However,the fare should have been reduced instead of being raised exorbitantly,considering crunch felt financially by the people owing to the lockdown and fall of oil prices.

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