Pakistan's PIA to resume commercial flights to Kabul

Passengers boarding the mock PIA flight at Benazir International Airport Islamabad on April 7, 2018. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority)

• International media reported earlier PIA was going to resume commercial flight operations to Afghanistan from next week
• A PIA spokesperson said the airline was only going to operate chartered flights requested by institutions in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Saturday it wanted to resume commercial flights to Kabul but it was still going to take some time.
International media reported earlier today that the Pakistani airline was scheduled to restart its regular service to Afghanistan, calling it the first air passenger carrier to do that since the Taliban seized power last month.
PIA played a significant role in international evacuations from Afghanistan in recent weeks after the previous Kabul administration of Ashraf Ghani collapsed in August.
The airline also raised safety concerns last month since the airport was damaged due to the hasty departure of foreign nationals from Afghanistan. Besides, the technical crew managing the facility had also disappeared amid the chaos.
“PIA desires to begin its regular flights to Kabul,” a spokesperson said in an official statement, “but it is going to take some time.”
He added that some institutions in Kabul had contacted the airline, requesting it to operate chartered flights.
“PIA has sought permission operate these flights, but their departure will require us to make some arrangements which have not been completed yet,” he informed.
The official continued that the airline would share complete information before launching the limited flight operations, adding that anyone interested in using the chartered planes could contact PIA offices in Kabul and Islamabad.