Asian – Dispatch

Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar until October 26 due to operational reasons. The airline said Karachi operations will continue as usual.

ISLAMABAD: Flydubai has halted flight operations to and from Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar until October 26, citing operational reasons, according to the airline’s flight inquiry service in Pakistan.

The carrier said its services to and from Karachi will continue without interruption.

Flydubai, the United Arab Emirates-based low-cost airline, began operating in Islamabad and Lahore in July 2024. It later started flights to Peshawar in May last year.

Flight tracking platform Flightradar24 showed that the airline’s Islamabad-Dubai services FZ353 and FZ354, Lahore-Dubai services FZ359 and FZ360, and Peshawar-Dubai services FZ375 and FZ376 had been cancelled since at least May 7.

Airline statement and reduced schedule

A statement posted on Flydubai’s website on March 31, issued days after the Iran war began, said the airline was currently operating flights across its network with a reduced schedule.

The airline advised passengers to keep checking flight status and operational updates before leaving for the airport. “We continue to closely monitor the situation and update our flight schedule accordingly. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority,” the statement read without directly referring to the Middle East conflict that began on March 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Wider aviation pressures

The US-Iran war has led to a steep rise in jet fuel prices, contributing to what the report described as the aviation sector’s worst crisis in years.

Late last month, the International Air Transport Association warned that the jet fuel crunch linked to the Iran war could affect Asia first and most severely.

“I think we ​will see airlines starting to reduce some of their ​schedules as we go towards the peak summer period in anticipation of some fuel shortages,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said.

The suspension affects Flydubai passengers travelling from three major Pakistani cities to Dubai, while Karachi remains the only destination in Pakistan where the airline has confirmed normal operations.

The development comes as airlines across the region continue to adjust schedules amid operational constraints and fuel-related pressures tied to the ongoing conflict.

Source: Pakistan Today