Flights to Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Foreign airlines that had suspended their flights to the city due to security concerns about five months ago have started preparations to resume their operations and Air Arabia has become the first one to start flying on the Sharjah Peshawar route.Sources said the Air Arabia began flying to Peshawar on January 7. It has three flights a week between Sharjah and Peshawar. There were reports that the Emirates Airlines would resume flight to Peshawar around February 2. The Qatar Airways could follow suit in the first week with flights between Doha and Peshawar, to be followed by the Gulf Air and Etihad Airways.

The sixth Gulf based airline that used to fly to Peshawar was the Saudi Arabian Airlines. It too could resume operations to Peshawar once the other airlines do so. Except the Qatar Airways, the other five airlines had suspended flights to Peshawar following the rocket attacks on the Peshawar International Airport in mid-August. The Qatar Airways also stopped flying to Peshawar after a while due to the heightened security concerns.The halt to rocket attacks in recent months and the reopening of the Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar on January 1 after remaining closed for months following the bombing in June 9 have persuaded the foreign airlines to resume their flights to Peshawar.