Airspace of 8 countries remains closed

KARACHI: Due to the ongoing conflict between Iran, United States and Israel, airspace of eight countries remains closed, severely disrupting flight schedules.

Over the past six days, around 1,000 flights from Pakistan and 23,900 flights across Middle East have been cancelled. At Karachi airport, 33 flights were cancelled; 22 from Lahore, 30 from Multan, 14 from Peshawar, 10 from Sialkot, 10 from Multan, four from Faisalabad, and two from Quetta. Meanwhile, 12 flights were operated.

In the United Arab Emirates, airport activity has intensified as authorities work to complete the immediate evacuation of more than 30,000 passengers. On Thursday, around 400 flights were operated from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah airports, including about a dozen flights to Pakistan. Out of 1,250 flights scheduled at Dubai airport, 712 were cancelled, 250 operated, while the rest remained uncertain.

At Abu Dhabi, only 50 out of 500 flights operated, while 450 remained non-operational.

In Sharjah, 250 of 312 flights were cancelled, while 45 flights operated. From Ras Al Khaimah, four flights operated while 19 were cancelled.

Flights departing from the UAE that returned due to disruptions also faced delays in landing because of drone and missile attacks.

According to flight schedule, 716 flights from Doha, 177 from Bahrain, and 264 from Kuwait were also unable to take off on Thursday, similar to the previous six days. At Tel Aviv airport in Israel, 350 of 400 flights were cancelled.

Meanwhile, 25 flights from Haifa, 28 out of 108 flights from Beirut, 215 from Iraq, 240 from Iran, 81 out of 216 flights from Amman (Jordan), and 42 flights from Damascus were cancelled. Additionally, 58 flights from Dammam and 77 flights from Riyadh airport were also cancelled.