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KARACHI: Pakistan has asked the United States to permit operating special flights to bring back stranded citizens.
Pakistan International Airlines Chief Operating Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik wrote a letter to the US ambassador and the State Department in which he had sought permission to operate PIA special flights in the US in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that the COVID-19 crisis had created a situation that necessitated the conduct of urgent air service to repatriate stranded citizens from both the countries.
He asserted that the PIA held a valid Foreign Air Carrier Permit and had submitted its application to the US Department of Transportation for fresh security authority through its legal representatives in February.
The PIA will operate direct flights to the US after the approval. The Boeing 777 aircraft in this regard will be used to bring back Pakistanis stranded abroad.
PIA recently reduced its special flights’ fares by 20 to 30 percent for the UAE. The tickets for UAE to Multan and Karachi will be available at 957 Dirhams and 810 Dirhams, respectively.
The airfare for the flights operating from UAE to Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar has been reduced to 1,110 Dirhams. So far, PIA has lifted 11,000 stranded Pakistanis in the foreign countries.
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