UAE, Bahrain suspend flights to Pakistan

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain yesterday suspended all flights to Pakistan “until further notice” after Islamabad closed its airspace.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority issued a decision suspending all flights of UAE-registered airlines to Pakistan “until further notice”.

Meanwhile, Dubai Airports said in a statement that “flights to and from Pakistan have been suspended until further notice, due to the closure of Pakistani airspace” following military escalation with India yesterday morning, adding that they are working closely with airlines and air traffic control authorities to reduce the operational impact and inconvenience caused to customers.

Dubai Airports advised passengers on affected flights to check with their airlines for updates.

READ: Militant attacks may prompt greater cooperation between Iran and India against Pakistan 

Bahrain’s Gulf Air also suspended flights to and from Pakistan.

The Emirati and Bahraini decisions came after Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority closed the country’s airspace for all commercial flights, following the military tension with neighbouring India.

“The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan has officially closed its airspace until further notice,” it said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/AirportPakistan/status/1100668226386649089

The airspace was reopened for some flights earlier today with Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways flights taking off this morning.

Pakistani Airspace has just been opened for some flights. Air Arabia #G9825 is the first flight to leave Pakistanhttps://t.co/0yeZmuAyOh pic.twitter.com/4zhxoxsYnV

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 28, 2019

The Pakistani army announced Wednesday morning the downing of two Indian Air Force fighterjets which violated the country’s airspace, three pilots were captured as a result.