ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced to resume its seasonal flights between Dubai and Sakardu with effect from April 29.
The flight was first launched on August 14 last year but then suspended during winter season due to harsh weather conditions in Skardu.“PIA is restarting seasonal direct flight operation on Dubai-Skardu route with effect from April 19,” Zeeshan Ahmed, Regional Manager of PIA in Dubai, told reporters on Friday.
The flight operation will resume with Skardu-Dubai flight on April 29 while Dubai-Skardu flight will be operated on May 3. “Residents and tourists can enjoy once a week flight on every Friday from Dubai,” said Ahmed.
The flight from Dubai to Skardu opens the doors not only for Pakistani expats but also for more than 200 nationalities living in the UAE to explore the untapped scenic beauty of Skardu and Gilgit Baltistan — located around 570km north of Islamabad.
“The new flight operation is in line with national airline’s CSR policy to provide travel convenience to residents of Gilgit Baltistan and to promote tourism in Pakistan,” Ahmed explained.
He said the airline is commitment to provide Pakistanis and foreign tourists the best of its services by launching new flights on unconventional routes. He added that the new flight provides a good opportunity to UAE residents to visit the beautiful valleys and mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan region during summer break.
Passengers from Dubai can reach the scenic valleys, the cold desert and the highest mountain ranges include K-2 within three hours of flight.It normally takes more than 20 hours to travel by road through the mountains on the historic Karakorum highway to reach Skardu from Islamabad.
The average temperature in Gilgit-Baltistan during summer is below 20C while it is covered with heavy snow during winter. Desert safari in the sand dunes of the cold desert in Skardu with a backdrop of snowy mountains and rocky terrain is an experience unforgettable.
In this connection, the national flag career is scheduled to operate six flights from Islamabad to the two airports in the located in the northern areas, enabling the tourists to board the return flights.Flight cancellations by the national carrier since Oct 14 has forced hundreds of foreign tourists to stay in the mountainous towns while also affecting their travel plans after visiting the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
At the same time, the longer-than-planned stay also mean that these foreign tourists have to face additional cost for lodging and food.The PIA had to cancel another 53 flights on Sunday even after reaching a deal a day earlier with Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to smooth fuel supply.
It means a total of 650 PIA flights have been cancelled on domestic and international routes since the middle of this month as the PSO started providing less fuel as the airline failed to pay its dues.
