Civil Aviation Authority hopes foreign airlines will resume Peshawar cheap flights

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Civil Aviation Authority Manager (Public Relations) Abid Kaimkhani told that foreign airlines, which had temporarily stopped  cheap flights for Peshawar, would decide about resumption of cheap flights shortly.

Foreign Airliners will make a decision on July 1 and we are waiting for it. We hope they’ll resume cheap flights for Peshawar very soon,” he said.

Kaimkhani said a few airlines had diverted cheap flights from Peshawar to Islamabad after attack on a commercial flight in Peshawar lately and security had been improved at vulnerable points at and around the city’s Bacha Khan International Airport since then.

Official says security enhanced around the airport
Three big foreign airlines, including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Ittehad, have suspended cheap flights for Peshawar in the wake of a gun attack on Pakistan International Airlines’ Airbus A-310 during landing at the Peshawar airport on Tuesday night.

The cheap flight with 196 passengers and 10 crew members on board was coming from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) when it was fired upon on the city’s outskirts, leaving one woman passenger dead and two stewards injured.

Official said Saudi Airlines had cancelled one cheap flight for Peshawar before diverting it to Islamabad on Saturday citing ‘operational reasons. “Saudi Airlines did not give specific reasons for diverting cheap flight to Islamabad,”.

Official said about 300 passengers were transported to Islamabad by road in the day. He said Air Arabia and Gulf Air were operating to and from Peshawar, while the operations of four domestic airlines, including those of PIA, continued.

Concerned officials  said law-enforcement agencies had begun survey in the areas adjacent to tribal areas and were maintaining profiles of those living there.  Human intelligence had been strengthened, while the number of police and Frontier Constabulary had been increased. The police have arrested about 300 people after attack on the plane.  They said a proposal was under consideration to change the timing of cheap flight arrival for foreign airlines from night to day. Proposal had been discussed with the airlines operating cheap flights for Peshawar.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority officials, despite lack of space and other facilities, the Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar is one of the country’s busiest airports with around 1.4 million people landing and departing from there annually. Only Emirates Airlines had operated five flights a week from there before attack on the PIA aircraft. 90% of the passengers were laborers traveling between Peshawar and the Middle East and other regions. Despite several shortcomings and lack of facilities, foreign airlines could not ignore Peshawar because it had huge potential. “The number of people landing in and flying from Peshawar can increase if facilities, including loading, unloading and parking, are expanded.

World’s four top airlines had operations in Peshawar and that two more would begin service in near future. Suspension of cheap flights by foreign airlines for Peshawar has adversely affected businesses directly or indirectly associated with the aviation sector. Taxi stands outside the airport wear deserted look.