Pakistani airline denies plan to resume flights to Kabul, says statement taken out of context

A spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said they’re planning to operate charter flights at the behest of certain customer demands who want to evacuate their people from Kabul.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) won’t be resuming commercial flights from Islamabad to Kabul from September 13, a spokesperson for the national carrier said on Saturday, dismissing the reports that claimed otherwise. Quoting Abdullah Khan, the spokesperson for the PIA, news agencies had earlier reported that the airline will be starting the first commercial plane from Islamabad to Kabul on September 13 as it has received dozens of requests from humanitarian relief agencies and journalists to resume the services.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson said his statement was taken out of context. (Reuters)

"We have got all technical clearances for flight operations," AFP quoted Khan as saying. "Our first commercial plane... is scheduled to fly from Islamabad to Kabul on September 13."

Speaking to Voice of America (VoA), Khan said that his statement was taken out of context and there’s no plan to resume commercial flights from Monday. He clarified that some international institutions and missions have requested the PIA to operate charter flights from Kabul, which prompted the airline to seek permission.

"We had actually applied for a charter flight permission to Kabul that was taken up by media and they actually said PIA is now resuming its regular flight operation from September 13, which is not the case," Khan said.

The PIA spokesperson told news agency ANI that they’re planning to operate charter flights at the behest of certain customer demands who want to evacuate their people from Kabul.

"Honestly, there will be some way for the evacuees to fly back before regular flights are resumed. At best, ours would be charter operations, operating on behest of certain customers demands who want to get their people out of Kabul," ANI had quoted Khan as saying.

This week, two Qatar Airways charter flights departed from Kabul on separate days with non-Afghans, including US citizens. The evacuations came days after the Taliban announced the members of their interim government in Afghanistan.

(With inputs from agencies)