Business Desk 
Jun 24, 2025
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane sits on tarmac, as seen through a plane window, at the Islamabad International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan October 27, 2024. — Reuters
After a short stoppage due to increasing tensions in the region and associated airspace closures over Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait on late Monday night, flight operations between Pakistan and the Gulf countries have finally resumed.
Aviation officials confirmed on Tuesday that prolonged disruptions to flight schedules were experienced by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other airlines, which had impacted their Gulf operations after airspace closures from part of the Gulf states over their airspace.
Flights between Pakistan and Gulf resume
The aviation officials confirmed Tuesday that, with the reopening of those airspaces, flights will gradually be returned to normal schedules.
The Gulf flight suspension resulted in PIA temporarily ceasing operations on a number of its Gulf-bound flights. All of PIA's Gulf operations have now resumed, but with long delays still being caused to their operation for some time, flight schedules are significantly delayed. According to PIA officials, departures are 5 to 13 hours behind scheduled flight times.
According to recent flight movement updates, it was confirmed that more than 32 flights originating from major airports in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and other cities were cancelled. This included 14 Qatar Airways flights that could not fly as scheduled. Airline sources also stated that more than 55 flights, both arriving and departing, are severely delayed at various airports.
While Saudi Arabia and the UAE kept their airspace open during this crisis, airlines were unable to offer routes that directly connect the two countries to Pakistan. This meant that airlines opted to divert their flights to ensure that their flights did not enter the affected airspace.
There were many flight cancellations, including eight outbound flights from Karachi to Jeddah, Doha, and Istanbul. Several flights from Lahore to Sharjah, Muscat, and Riyadh were also affected. Qatar Airways also cancelled multiple flights from Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Sialkot.
The delays are severe. For example, PIA flight PK 747 from Lahore to Madinah is delayed by 13 hours, PK 247 to Dammam by 6.5 hours, and PK 233 from Islamabad to Dubai by 15 hours.
Moreover, the Qatar Airways flight QR 621 from Doha to Karachi and Lahore is running 10 hours late. Two incoming flights from Bahrain to Islamabad are also delayed by four hours.
