Dubai - Flydubai special flight departed to Islamabad with 101 passengers including 78 Pakistanis who were stuck at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.
Published: Tue 24 Mar 2020, 4:00 PM
Last updated: Tue 24 Mar 2020, 6:31 PM
Pakistanis stranded at the UAE airports safely arrived at Islamabad from a special flydubai flights that departed Dubai International Airport at 11pm on Monday, March 24.
"Flydubai special flight departed to Islamabad with 101 passengers including 78 Pakistanis who were stuck at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports following suspension of flights to Pakistan on Saturday," Ahmed Amjad Ali, consul-general of Pakistan in Dubai, told Khaleej Times.
Ali, who personally supervised the operation to facilitate the stranded passengers at the airport, said the consulate made hectic efforts to ensure smooth returns of the stranded Pakistanis at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.
"We really appreciate the help and cooperation of the UAE authorities and senior officials of Emirates, flydubai and Dubai International to help the stranded passengers at the airport," the consul-general said.
An official at the Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said the Pakistan government had decided to allow special flight operations by flydubai and Qatar Airways to Islamabad to facilitate the stranded passengers at the Dubai and Doha airports.
"All the passengers arriving from Dubai and Doha will be subjected to strict health screening on their arrival in compliance with directives issued by the Ministry of Health," the official said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's office thanked the UAE authorities for operating the special flight to Islamabad.
"We would like to thank our friends at @emirates who, in coordination with @flydubai, facilitated the return of our stranded citizens in the UAE. @emirates and Pakistan have a shared history of friendship!," the Prime Minister office tweeted.
Facilities at the airport
The consul-general said stranded passengers provided best facilities during their stay at the airports as he personally supervised the whole operations and coordinated all efforts with the UAE authorities and Pakistan government.
"We provided hotel facility to families with kids and senior citizens while ensure food, medicines and blankets to those who were stuck at the airport," he said.
"The special flight included 73 Pakistani passengers stuck at the Dubai airport, 5 from Abu Dhabi airport while the rest of 23 were flydubai passengers," he said.
Shahid Mughal, regional manager for UAE at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), said the stranded passengers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi had arrived from different PIA flights across the world after the flight operations were suspended by Pakistan on Saturday.
"We have facilitated these stranded Pakistanis and coordinated efforts with local authorities and flydubai officials. The flight departed at 11:00pm to Islamabad," Mughal said.
"We have received special permission from the UAE and Pakistani authorities to operate this special flight to Islamabad," Mughal said.
muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com
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