PIA to operate direct flights between Karachi, Skardu

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines announced to operate Karachi-Skardu-Karachi direct flights to facilitate tourists and residents of Gilgit Baltistan.

A spokesman for the PIA said an Airbus A320 flight would take off from Karachi after making sure that the weather conditions and routine flight are clear.

In case of bad weather conditions, the airbus flight will be diverted to Islamabad instead of returning to Karachi, the spokesman said, adding the flight time from Karachi to Skardu would be 2-1/4 hours.

The officials said the PIA was also planning to begin flights between Lahore and Gilgit, adding PIA was also planning to start flight operations from Karachi to Chitral and Karachi to Gilgit.

The spokesman said it will be for the first time that flights for northern areas will be operated from Karachi and Lahore, instead of only from Islamabad. The aim to expand the flight operations to northern areas was to promote tourism in the country in the light of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision.

The spokesman said PIA had planned to operate a safari flight from Islamabad to Skardu on the second day of Eidul Fitr.