PIA to resume regular flights to UAE from today

The country’s national carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday said it will resume flights to the United Arab Emirates from today. 

The airline said the passengers will now be able to travel to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain from Pakistan but they would need a Covid-19 test not older than 48 hours with them before boarding the planes. 

“The PIA would resume its regular flight operations to the UAE from Thursday and tickets are already up for grabs,” the PIA spokesperson said in a press release on Wednesday.

“Flights resume to UAE from July 9. PIA passengers will be able to travel round-trip from Pakistan to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain,” said the notification uploaded by the airline on Twitter. 

“Passengers will be required to get their Covid-19 tests done within 48 hours prior to the flight departure and a negative test report would have to be presented at the time of the check-in,” the press release further added. 

Earlier, the UAE-based carrier Emirates also resumed regular flights to Pakistan after mandating passengers to present a negative Covid-19 test from a designated testing laboratory — Chughtai Laboratory — at the boarding counter. 

“The health and safety of our crew, customers and communities remain our top priority. Emirates has put in place a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey on the ground and in the air, to minimise the risk of infection spread,” Emirates Airline in a press release issued by the airline said.

“The PCR test must be taken up to four days prior to the travel date (96 hrs maximum) and must be conducted at the Emirates authorised health centre at the passenger’s expense.”

Earlier, since the pandemic grounded the airlines around the world, the PIA was flying in passengers from UAE to repatriate Pakistanis in the gulf nations.

In addition to UAE, the PIA is also currently under negotiations with authorities in Spain to resume flights to the European country.