RAWALPINDI, Dec 7: The government has decided to restart the issuance of protocol passes for access to lounges of national airports from next year, a Civil Aviation Authority official told this reporter on Monday.

The passes are issued on annual basis. The issuance of the protocol passes for airports had been suspended following heightened security in the backdrop of the 9/11 incident and other terrorist activities in the world.

The holders of these protocol passes are entitled to be facilitated by protocol officers of various departments during their stay at the airports, an official said. The applications for these passes would be routed through Airport Security Force to the defence ministry, which is empowered to issue these passes.

The official said, these applications were vetted by different government agencies and the whole process had to be looked after by the applicant. The Export Promotion Bureau is helping the exporters having a minimum export performance of US$ 12.5 million during the fiscal year 2003-04 in getting the passes.