NEW DELHI, June 11 – Cathay Pacific is among the first few airlines that has announced cancellation of its service to Jinnah International Airport Karachi, Pakistan, after two consecutive terror attacks.
“In view of the situation at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Cathay Pacific is reviewing and assessing the safety status of the airport,” Cathay Pacific posted on its website.
It said its flights from Bangkok to Karachi on June 11 and Karachi to Bangkok on June 12 has been cancelled.
Flight operations from Bangkok to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Bangkok on the said dates remained normal, it said.
Cathay Pacific operates four flights a week between Karachi and Hong Kong.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Customers are recommended to check Flight Status before departing for the airport,” the airline said.
According to information available on Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) micro blogging site, twitter, a Thai Airways flight was also cancelled.
Cargolux Airlines International S.A have also suspended its service from Karachi Airport.
“Due to the developing situation, the Karachi stopover has been cancelled until further notice,” Europe’s biggest all-cargo airline, Cargolux said on its website.
The airline operates one weekly flight to Karachi on Tuesdays with flight CV7822 routed from Luxembourg to Sharjah via Karachi.
It also confirmed that none of its aircraft were involved, damaged or destroyed in the terrorist attack at the airport this weekend, contrary to rumors published on a variety of websites.
“Cargolux would like to further state that none of its aircraft were positioned in Karachi at the time of the attack,” it noted.
Meanwhile, Emirates announced that it was continuing to operate flights between Dubai and Karachi, however, passengers are advised to check their flight status as some flights may have to be re timed.
“The safety of Emirates’ passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” it said.
In a six-hour siege of the Karachi airport on Sunday night, more than 30 people were killed, including 10 Taliban militant.
At 2pm on Monday, security forces cleared the airport terminal and other facilities and allowed CAA to take control of the after 15 hours.
A fresh attack took place on Tuesday afternoon at the Airport Security Force camp number 2 near the airport. All flights were immediately halted and operations resumed only two hours later.
Karachi is the largest and most populous metropolitan city of Pakistan and its main seaport and financial centre.
The Jinnah International Airport is Pakistan’s busiest.
– BERNAMA
