ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Thursday issued a schedule for special international flights to repatriate thousands of Pakistanis stranded in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the PIA spokesperson, the national carrier would operate chartered flights to bring back nationals stranded in the US.
Sharing details of the relief operation, he said that, initially, PIA will operate two flights for Washington. The first flight would depart for Washington on May 10 from Islamabad airport, while the second flight will leave for Washington from Jinnah International Airport Karachi on May 13.
The schedule for flights between Lahore and New Jersey would be announced later, he added.
It may be noted that Pakistan International Airlines was allowed last week to operate direct flights to the United States (US) to airlift its stranded citizens. The permission was granted by the US Transport Department on Pakistan’s request to repatriate its stranded citizens in the United States of America.
According to the permission granted by the US, the PIA can operate as many as 12 flights in a month to bring back the stranded Pakistanis. The PIA spokesperson had said that the permission was granted to Pakistan by the US after improvement in the security situation. CEO PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Ministry and Aviation Ministry for taking the issue with the US.
The national flag carrier is continuing its operations to bring back stranded Pakistani expats across the globe. – TLTP
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