UAE airlines extend flight suspensions to Pakistan

UAE airlines have extended the suspension of flights to and from Pakistan, some until Tuesday, May 13, as the country shut its airspace due to cross-border tensions with India.

Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday announced the closure of its airspace till at least 12 pm Pakistan time (12:30 pm IST) on Sunday, May 11.

Emirates Airline on Saturday pushed back the date of suspension on Pakistan services until May 12, from an earlier announced May 10. 

In an update on its official website, the Dubai carrier said "it is suspending flight operations to all points in Pakistan until May 12, due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding access to the country’s airspace and airports".

Emirates flies to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Sialkot and Karachi.

The airline apologised for the inconvenience, adding that it is "monitoring the situation closely and will post any operational updates on our website".

It added that "passengers booked on connecting flights to Pakistan will not be accepted to travel until further notice".

In a post on social media, Sharjah-based Air Arabia said flights to Pakistan have been "temporarily suspended" until May 13 "due to current events".

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways also announced suspension of all flights to Pakistan on May 10.

In an update on its official website, the airline said all services to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have been cancelled.

"This remains an evolving situation and further changes or disruptions may occur. Etihad continues to monitor developments closely in coordination with the relevant authorities," the statement added.

In a statement sent to ARN News, flydubai said flights to Pakistan and Afghanistan on May 10 and May 11 have been cancelled "due to operational reasons".

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and amend our flight schedule accordingly," the low-cost carrier added.

Those booked to fly to Pakistan have been advised to check official sites of the airlines for regular updates.

Flights to India

Emirates, flydubai and Etihad Airways told ARN News that all flights to India continues to operate as normal.

The carriers said they did not fly to any of the 32 airports that were closed on Saturday due to the ongoing strikes. These included Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jammu, Leh, Shimla and Srinagar.