UAE airline stops flights

Peshawar United Arab Emirates based Air Arabia has stopped flights to Peshawar due to security reasons, a source at the Peshawar International Airport told The News.Air Arabia, which used to operate three flights a week to Peshawar since 2007, has diverted its flights for Peshawar to Islamabad from last Sunday, citing security threats as the main reason, the source added.

Some international airlines had already diverted their flights from Peshawar to Islamabad due to the law and order situation in the city, especially after the bomb blast at the Pearl Continental Hotel on June 9 this year. Even the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, had pondered suspending flights to Peshawar on account of security reasons after the Darra Adamkhel based Taliban threatened to hit the planes.

The Peshawar airport was closed on two occasions recently owing to security concerns following intelligence reports that suicide bombers could strike at the airport. Some of the airlines also faced problems in continuing flights to and from Peshawar after the pilots as well as other staff refused to fly to the international airport in the NWFP. The city’s airport has come under rocket attacks on a number of occasions in recent months. Some rockets landed on the runway without causing any major damage. One rocket reportedly damaged an International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC plane.