More than 800 Pakistani passengers stranded at Bangkok airport

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: More than 800 Pakistani passengers travelling to their home country from different destinations have been stranded at the Bangkok airport for the past six days as military tensions with India forced the closure of Pakistani airspace.

The stranded citizens—among them women, children, senior citizens, and ailing passengers—have been facing difficulties due to a lack of adequate facilities at the Thai airport, and have appealed to the Pakistani government to help them return to their homeland as soon as possible.

The travelers have complained that the Pakistani embassy in Thailand has not yet taken any steps to help them, and have called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice and issues directives to assist them.

Pakistan airspace reopened, says aviation authority

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Pakistan had reopened its airspace on Monday, days after it closed its skies to all air travel, leaving thousands of travelers stranded worldwide and forcing carriers to reroute flights, but resumed partial operations at four airports on Friday.

The decision to close the airspace came last Wednesday after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan.

Two more airports have since opened, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said, adding that curbs were expected to be removed on Tuesday.

"Some airports are open," CAA spokesperson Mustafa Baig told Reuters on Monday, adding that airports in the capital of Islamabad, the southern port of Karachi, and the cities of Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Faisalabad were partly functional.

He did say not why the reopening of airspace, originally scheduled for Monday, had been delayed.

Tensions ease after Pakistan's peace gesture

The partial resumption of flights follows a week of tension that appears to be easing after Pakistan released Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was captured on Wednesday when his MiG-21 among two Indian military aircraft was shot down by Pakistan Air Force after they ventured into the Pakistani airspace.

Flights between Asia and Europe were disrupted, stranding thousands of passengers, although airlines were later able to reroute through China many flights that normally pass over Pakistan.

Flights from Singapore to Europe that usually cross Pakistan and Afghanistan, for example, were rerouted westwards over Oman, adding more than an hour’s flying time and boosting fuel costs. Iran also saw heavier use of its airspace, officials said.

The twice-weekly Samjhota Express train service linking the Indian capital of Delhi and Lahore also resumed today after being suspended last week.