RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Afghanistan’s Kam Air have signed an interline agreement offering smoother travel for passengers travelling from Afghanistan to the Middle East.

Travellers will be able to book one reservation, avoid rechecking baggage in Islamabad, and skip immigration during airside transit. According to a spokesman, the interline cooperation between PIA, which was privatised earlier this year, and Afghanistan’s Kam Air establishes a streamlined transit route connecting Afghanistan to key destinations across the Middle East via Islamabad. The first phase activates the Kabul-Islamabad-Dammam route.

Under the agreement, passengers can book their entire itinerary under a unified reservation, avoiding the need to purchase separate tickets for each leg.

Checked luggage from Kabul is transferred directly at Islamabad International Airport to the connecting PIA flight, eliminating the need to collect and recheck baggage during transit.

Nadra-integrated vaccination proof must for outbound travel, airport authorities say

The spokesman added that Afghan travellers heading to Gulf destinations can bypass immigration clearance in Pakistan as long as they remain airside in transit.

Nadra-integrated vaccination proof

The government has made Nadra-integrated vaccination proof mandatory for travellers flying out of Pakistan, saying no one will be allowed to leave the country from today without vaccination proof for polio, meningitis, yellow fever and influenza.

The facility for vaccination and online registration will be available at the international departure lounge in the coming days; therefore, passengers must reach the airport six hours prior to their flight if they require vaccination on the spot, said a directive issued by the Airport Health Department. Payment for vaccination will be made through the e-Sahulat Nadra platform, the directive said.

For those travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage, the federal government’s civil dispensary is the only authorised centre for vaccination.

In order to minimise chaos and inconvenience for Umrah pilgrims, all airlines, including PIA, have been directed to convey these directives to travel agents so that, from now on, only Nadra-integrated vaccination proofs will be accepted for travel.

A PIA spokesman confirmed that no passenger will be allowed to travel internationally without vaccination proof. International travellers should ensure they obtain the proof before travelling, while those bound for Saudi Arabia for Haj and Umrah should get vaccinated only at an authorised government centre.

Umrah pilgrims must obtain a digital vaccination card from Nadra before travelling, the spokesman added.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2026