WITH the cancellation of several international flights, travellers to and from Pakistan have been plunged into a state of uncertainty. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, no move has been made on its part to cancel the flights. The CAA maintains that passengers were inconvenienced because international carriers first overbooked flights and later had to cancel them because of the restrictions imposed by the National Command Operation Centre. One carrier confirmed that some of its flights had been cancelled to comply with the NCOC’s restrictions. In May, the NCOC had announced a reduction in international travel from May 5 to May 20, allowing just 20pc of inbound air traffic from all over the world. The NCOC restriction was later extended till July 15. It appears that international carriers had released schedules and allowed passengers to book their tickets in the hope that Pakistan would ease restrictions and increase flight operations, but were forced to cancel when, instead, the restrictions were extended.

All this has added to the woes of potential travellers, who have found themselves in limbo as they scramble to find alternatives — which in some cases are not available. Aside from the costs and the inconvenience of having to rebook and reschedule plans, travellers have also endured the anguish of simply not knowing what the next step will be. Here, international carriers and the CAA can do much more to communicate, so that travellers are not left in the lurch. The CAA should have been made aware that the NCOC is extending restrictions, so that the authority could intimate international carriers about this critical update. The carriers, too, should not allow passengers to book flights if there is no clarity on flight operations and permission to operate. Travelling during the pandemic is already an expensive and tedious ordeal, with testing before and, in many cases, after travel. Airlines and the CAA must work together to ensure the process is kept as smooth as possible, given the restrictions in place to keep the Covid-19 infection rate low.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021