Domestic, international flight operations resume at Pakistan's Lahore airport
Flight operations resumed at Lahore airport today after being suspended for over 72 hours as Pakistan's airspace was closed in the wake of escalating tensions with India after the Pulwama terror attack. Pakistan on Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, for an indefinite period. Here are more details.
All airlines have been notified about resumption of operations
According to the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), domestic and international flight operations resumed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 6 am today. It said that all airlines have been notified about the resumption of flight operations. However, Multan airport is yet to open for commercial flights. A day earlier, flight operations resumed at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta airports.
Authorities partially resumed operations to help stranded passengers
On Friday, Pakistan's aviation authority partially resumed operations for some international and domestic flights as thousands of passengers were left stranded worldwide after Islamabad shut down air travel following escalating tensions with India. The CAA on Friday announced that flight operations at the eastern side airports, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur, will remain closed till March 4.
Over 700 international flights were canceled in last three days
The closure of the airspace left thousands of air travelers stranded worldwide and more than 700 international and domestic flights were canceled during the last three days to and from the country, including flights to New Delhi. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14.
Post Pulwama attack, IAF bombed JeM training camps in Pakistan
Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s.
