Etihad Airways increases flights to Pakistan from July 16

LAHORE: The Etihad Airways has announced to increase its flight operations for Pakistan from July 16.

Earlier, Etihad Airways had suspended flights to Pakistan since a ban on commercial flights was imposed on March 21 to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Pakistan had also suspended international flight operations on March 21 for two weeks to limit the spread of Covid-19. It was later extended to May 31.

According to the announcement, in response to improved travel needs, the airline will operate 12 flights a week of which seven flights will be operated from Lahore, two from Islamabad and three flights from Karachi.

Etihad Airways also issued new travel guidelines for the passengers flying from Pakistan according to which the travellers will be required to undergo coronavirus tests within 96 hours before boarding the plane.

“Only results of COVID-19 tests conducted through Chughtai Lab will be acceptable,” The airlines informed.

From July 15, Emirates will offer transit services to Bahrain, Manchester, Zurich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, New York JFK, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Taipei, Hong Kong, Perth, and Brisbane.  

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad said in a statement that it would carry transit passengers to 20 cities in Europe, Asia, and Australia from June 10.

In the meantime, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had resumed regular flight operations to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The passengers are required to get their CVOVID-19 tests carried out 48 hours prior to the travel date.

The travelers are now able to fly to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain from Pakistan through the airline’s regular flights.

Previously PIA was operating one-way relief flights to the UAE to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in the country, but now after obtaining permissions, the PIA is operating regular flights.