Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

PIA to suspend flights on four routes

State-run Pakistan International Airlines said on Friday it would suspend flights to four Asian destinations because of India's decision to ban Pakistani overflights from January 1.

PIA's chief operating office Khursheed Anwar told Reuters that weekly flights for Colombo, Maldives, Manila and Singapore would be suspended from January 1 pending further decision.

India decided on Thursday to halt PIA overflights, halve India's diplomatic mission in Islamabad and Pakistan's mission in New Delhi and restrict the movement of Pakistani diplomats.

India was reacting to what it saw as Pakistan's failure to crack down on militants it blames for a suicide attack on the Parliament in New Delhi on December 13.

Pakistan responded by banning Indian airlines from its airspace from January 1, halving India's representation in Islamabad and restricting Indian diplomats' movements.

The two nuclear powers have been massing troops and trading fire along their 3,310-km border in recent days as tensions mounted.

PIA said around 23 of its weekly flights would be hit after the closure of Indian airspace.

"Operations for these countries would no longer be economically viable...while we will incur extra cost on Bangkok and Tokyo operations which will be carried out through Chinese airspace," he added.

Anwar said PIA would face a drop of five per cent in its annual operational revenues, "which is negligible."

PIA cut 15 per cent of its flights in October because of a sharp drop in air travel since the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Anwar said it had applied to India for permission to operate extra flights to New Delhi and Mumbai before January 1 to bring Pakistanis home.

"If Indian authorities allow us, we would operate extra flights," he added.

PIA spokesman Imran Gardazi said India had asked the airline to withdraw its staff in India within 48 hours after January 1.

"We will close down our offices and will call back 10 Pakistani staffers from the airline's offices New Delhi and Mumbai," Gardazi added.

Tell us what you think of this report