RAWALPINDI: The Emirates is inc­r­­­­­easing its passenger service to and from Pakistan on Aug 10, offering enh­anced connectivity to over 70 destinations within the current network via Dubai.

An Emirates spokesman said on Monday that the airline was set to ramp up its flight frequency to and from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Sialkot and resume passenger service to Peshawar, providing its customers worldwide with greater access to its expanding network.

The airline will now offer customers 53 weekly flights to Pakistan, which will increase to 60 weekly flights starting from Aug 16. All flights will be operated with Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel agents.

The airline will operate 21 weekly flights to Karachi (it will be increased to 28 weekly flights from Aug 16), 10 weekly flights to Islamabad, seven weekly flights to Sialkot, 10 weekly flights to Lahore, and five weekly flights to Peshawar. The airline reminded its customers that travel restrictions remained in place and travelers would only be accepted on these flights if they complied with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements.

Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has reopened for inter­national business and leisure visitors. It said Covid-19 PCR tests were mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they were coming from.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2020