The UAE News report: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has increased its capacity from the UAE to major Pakistani cities ahead of Eid, deploying bigger Boeing 777 aircraft.
“Yes, PIA has increased capacity by deploying Boeing 777 aircraft. Since we can’t operate extra flights, we upgraded from Airbus 320 to Boeing 777, which has a capacity of over 300 seats,” said Syed Ikhlaq Hussain, PIA’s station manager in Dubai.
“Because a large number of people are coming from Europe and the US, they got stuck here due to less number of flights available to them for Pakistan. Therefore, PIA has increased its capacity as demand grows so that we can carry a maximum number of passengers from the UAE.”
Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Pakistan’s minister for aviation, said in a press statement on Saturday that around 2,000 more seats will be added through aircraft upgradation before Eid on Dubai, Sharjah, Doha and Bahrain routes.
After local UAE airlines reduced frequencies to Pakistan, PIA has increased its capacity to meet the demand.
The national carrier currently operates 3-4 flights per day from Dubai to major cities of Pakistan. In addition, PIA is also operating flights from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
“As demand grows, we upgrade the aircraft. We expect this trend will continue till Eid Al Adha. Our flights are almost sold out till July 12-13. Most passengers are flying with families and then there are foreign passport holders also going to Pakistan,” said Hussain.
