RAWALPINDI: There was a sudden increase in the number of travellers at the Islamabad International Airport on Thursday who wanted to reach the United Kingdom before the deadline of April 9 as the Pakistan International Airlines completed its flight operations with 13 chartered planes to send about 3,000 Pakistanis.

The PIA arranged chartered flights from different countries on short notice to transport thousands of Pakistani migrants to the UK before the deadline, which is 8pm on Friday according to local time. The UK government put Pakistan on the “red list” of countries on the advice of health experts and set a deadline for Pakistani migrants to go back to the UK.

Due to European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s restrictions, PIA has to charter flights to repatriate Pakistani migrants, as PIA aircraft remain parked at airports due to the restrictions.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2021