ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): On Tuesday, extreme cold weather in Pakistan caused a major disruption to flights and cancellations for airlines, not only for international but also for domestic flights, and in many cases, passengers had to wait quite a long time to get their flights.
According to the airport officials, the weather was a mix of heavy clouds and rain, resulting in very low visibility and chaotic conditions that directly impaired the ground activities.
Jinnah’s flight from Islamabad to Jeddah was abruptly cancelled. Pakistan International Airlines also decided to call off its Gilgit-bound flight PA-201, citing safety issues. AirSial was another airline that cancelled its Sukkur flight, while PIA called off PK-451 to Skardu and PK-603 to Gilgit.
According to the officials, the weather in northern India still did not allow for safe operations. The bad weather also interfered with international flights. Urumqi, Tehran, and Istanbul flights were among those cancelled.
The flight of Qatar Airways from Doha was delayed by more than an hour before it finally left. The operations of flights to Karachi by Fly Jinnah and AirSial also faced delays. AirSial’s flight to Riyadh took off almost two hours after the scheduled time.
Emirates’ flight to Dubai witnessed a delay of over one hour as well. The airport authorities advised the passengers to get in touch with the airlines before proceeding to the airport. They also stated that the process would gradually go back to normal as the weather conditions in the area improved.
