Pakistan to reduce inbound international flights to 20pc


FE Team | Published: May 01, 2021 20:18:08 | Updated: May 01, 2021 20:47:53


A porter loading the luggage of recently arrived air travellers from New Delhi, into a cab after Canada's government temporarily barred passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days, at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, recently -Reuters file photo

Pakistan plans to reduce the number of inbound international flights to 20 per cent of current numbers to curb rising COVID-19 cases, the official body overseeing the country's pandemic response said on Saturday.

"In view of prevailing global and regional disease trends, Pakistan has decided to reduce inbound international travel from 5 May to 20th May," said the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC), which oversees the country's pandemic response, on Twitter.

It was not immediately clear which routes and air carriers would be affected, reports Reuters.

The NCOC added the decision would be reviewed on May 18.

Pakistan has seen record deaths in recent days from the coronavirus, and stricter restrictions on movement and gathering in public are planned for the upcoming Eid holiday. Officials are worried the country's health care system, already under strain, could reach breaking point if more contagious variants of the virus begin to spread, as has happened in neighbouring India.

On Saturday authorities reported 4,696 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 146 deaths from the disease. 

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