ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today (Friday) asked foreign airlines to accommodate passengers affected by flight cancellations in recent weeks with the “earliest possible flights”.
“Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has taken serious notice against foreign airlines i.e. Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Fly Dubai for causing inconvenience to passengers by flight cancellations in recent weeks,” said the CAA, in a statement.
The aviation authority said that it has noticed that a large number of passengers were issued confirmed tickets but their flights were cancelled. It added that the move has caused “unrest” and “inconvenience” to the passengers.
The CAA said that such reservations should have been made after confirmation of lifting of restrictions only. “A substantial number of the affected passengers have been facing great nuisance and financial losses whether it be hotel accommodation or living expenses as they had planned their departure from foreign countries to Pakistan as per their reserved/confirmed flight departure date,” said the CAA.
The authority asked the airlines to accommodate the affected passengers at the “earliest possible flights of the same airline or other airlines for travel to Pakistan and hotel accommodation”.
“Moreover, airlines have been directed to accommodate passengers who choose to get ticket refunds which shall be the 100% of the amount paid to airline in addition to the payment of compensation for the damage suffered by them,” said the CAA.
Earlier, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had shared that the CAA took “strong notice” of the flight cancellation by some international airlines.
“Cancellation of flights despite issuance of clear instructions has caused problems for passengers travelling to Pakistan,” said the NCOC. It added that the CAA has issued a warning to airlines for cancelling the flights.
