RAWALPINDI: Following the United Kingdom’s move to place Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya and the Philippines on its “red list” banning the entry of people arriving from these countries unless they are British or Irish nationals, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to operate additional flights for thousands of migrants staying in Pakistan.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said the national flag carrier had decided to operate extra flights before the deadline of April 9. He said thousands of migrants came to Pakistan from the UK on Good Friday and Easter holidays and their return became a difficult task. He said that due to the UK government’s move, the foreign airlines started charging fares of up to Rs400,000 per passenger. The spokesman said that PIA had decided to increase the number of flights before April 9. Five PIA flights will now depart for the UK from April 4 to 9.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2021