The ongoing war in the Middle East has severely disrupted aviation operations, with Pakistan cancelling 145 flights to the region for the sixth consecutive day as the conflict continues to rattle regional airspace. A large number of flights from Pakistan’s major airports were cancelled on Thursday due to the deteriorating security situation and restrictions affecting air routes across the Gulf.

The breakdown of cancellations shows that 35 flights from Karachi, 29 from Lahore and 12 from Multan bound for Middle Eastern destinations were called off. Meanwhile, 35 flights from Islamabad, 14 from Peshawar, 12 from Sialkot and six from Faisalabad were also cancelled, aviation sources said. The sources added that two additional flights from Quetta to Middle Eastern destinations were also cancelled, reflecting the widening impact of the regional conflict on Pakistan’s aviation sector. The crisis has deepened across the wider region as well.

Aviation officials say that the war in the Middle East has triggered a severe airspace disruption, with more than 20,000 flights cancelled across eight countries over the past five days. Evrim, her husband and their two young children are paying about $200,000 for a private flight departing from Muscat, the capital of Oman, bound for Geneva, where they intend to wait until the conflict subsides.

To reach Muscat, the family had to undertake a six-hour drive across the desert from Dubai. Several foreign governments, including United Kingdom and Germany, have begun sending aircraft to Oman to evacuate their nationals, as only a limited number of commercial flights continue to operate from UAE airports.

“Demand is definitely increasing,” said Glenn Phillips, public relations and advertising manager at Air Charter Service, a brokerage firm that arranges private jet travel around the world. “We have arranged a number of evacuation flights already and have more scheduled today and tomorrow, mainly out of Muscat in Oman for people looking to get out of Dubai,” he said.

Phillips added that prices for private jet charters had surged sharply because many aircraft were grounded at closed airports while operators remained reluctant to fly in a conflict zone due to security concerns. The route through Oman has emerged as the most common escape corridor for those leaving Dubai, but heavy congestion at the UAE-Oman border has meant that travellers are often forced to wait three to four hours before crossing.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)