Pakistan halts China flights till Sunday

As the coronavirus death toll reached over 200 and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this epidemic as global health emergency, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has decided to suspend flight operations to and from China with immediate effect.

According to PCAA officials, the decision has been made after the reports of virus victims in other parts of the world. "In order to prevent spreading of corona-virus in the country, it has been decided to suspend flight operations to and from China with immediate effects, they said.

Replying to a question, they said that flight suspension will remain till February 2, 2020 and decision to restore flight operations will be made after reviewing the situation.

The decision has now added further woes to Pakistani nationals especially students and businessmen stuck in China, albeit Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza on last Thursday announced not to evacuate Pakistanis from China in order to spread the virus further.

Some international airlines have already suspended flights to China due to warnings of the corona-virus outbreak. When contacted, spokesman PCAA Joint secretary Aviation, Abdul Sattar Khokhar, was not available for comments.