Daily Times

While implementing the decisions taken by the National Security Council (NSC) meeting, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has closed five major airports of Pakistan for international flights.

The authority has also issued a notification in this regard which stated that the international flights will remain suspended at Peshawar, Faisalabad, Quetta, Sialkot, and Multan.

The notification further stated that domestic operations will remain operational at the following airports across Pakistan.

The Peshawar-bound international flights will now land at Islamabad, whereas, international flights for Quetta have been diverted to Jinnah International Airport Karachi, notification added.

The four international fights coming from Dubai, Bahrain and Jeddah for Multan airport, will now land at Lahore airport.

The authority has also barred pilots, inspectors, examiners for OPC and PPC from visiting abroad with immediate effect.

The notification is conveyed to all national and international airlines, flying clubs and others.

Airlines and countries are continuing to restrict travel following the spread of the novel coronavirus outside the borders of Chinese territory.

With increased cases of coronavirus being reported in countries near and far from China including South Korea, Italy, and Iran, numerous routes around the world are being cut to prevent the further spread of the disease.

The reductions in service are caused by a mix of low-demand and government mandate restricting travel to certain regions. Middle Eastern and Asian countries are among those being the most proactive in attempting to stem the spread of the virus as it finds its way across their regions.