(Karachi) Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar has said that the flight operation to bring back stranded Pakistani nationals from abroad will begin from Monday (tomorrow).

Thousands of Pakistanis were forced to suffer after foreign airlines cancelled their ticket bookings owing to the Covid outbreak.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Ghulam Sarwar said that 18 flights will be operated to bring back stranded Pakistanis on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

40,000 to 45,000 overseas Pakistanis to be repatriated per week from June 20

“We are also taking action against airlines involved in overbooking,” he said adding that they have been issued show-cause notices.

In June, the UAE had extended a ban on inbound flights from 14 countries including Pakistan till July 21.

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) had said in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that flights from 14 countries, including Pakistan, would remain suspended until July 21, 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

PIA repatriates over 100,000 people

However, it said cargo flights, as well as business and charter flights, would be exempted from the suspension.