KARACHI: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has brought 235 citizens back from Ukraine. According to the details, a special PIA Boeing 777 plane departed from Lahore early morning on Tuesday to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in war-struck Ukraine.
The airline took back 235 passengers back to their country via flight, PK7788, from the neighbouring Poland’s capital city of Warsaw. PIA spokesman said that it was the first flight operated for the repatriation of Pakistanis in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He said that more flights are planned in coming days due to the requirement of 1200 passengers and added that the flights are planned in consultation with Pakistan’s embassies in Poland, Ukraine and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, air operations to and through that country were suspended, he added. CEO PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik at the start of the war reached out to the Pakistan ambassador in Ukraine and offered PIA planes to evaluate the possibility of repatriation operation for the Pakistani nationals back to the country.
It is also worth mentioning that Poland is in EU controlled airspace. EU had revoked third country operations (TCO) authorizations on Pakistan-origin airlines since July 2020.
Hence, special humanitarian permissions were sought by PIA flight operations to operate these flights and repatriate stranded Pakistanis back to safety and in the comfort of their families.
PIA’s spokesperson said that the airline also became part of the largest repatriation operations in the aftermath of pandemic outbreak in 2020 and carried nearly half a million people back to their homes.
PIA also assisted in international humanitarian efforts when it offered its services to operate food relief and evacuation flights to Kabul after the change in regime in Afghanistan.
PIA also played pivotal role is airlifting vaccine, ventilators, scanners and other equipment from China as per national disaster management requirement, he maintained.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022