PIA halts gulf flights over airspace restrictions

Pakistan International Airlines on Sunday suspended its flight operations to several Gulf destinations citing the worsening security situation and restricted airspace across parts of the Middle East.

According to a spokesperson, flights to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait have been stopped with immediate effect. The suspension will remain in place until tomorrow evening at the earliest or until safe airspace is restored in the affected region.

The airline said services to Saudi Arabia are continuing without interruption, although flight durations have increased due to rerouting.

To ensure operational continuity on the Saudi sector, PIA has shifted these flights to its wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft, which are operating on alternate and longer flight paths to avoid restricted zones, the spokesperson said.