KARACHI - Dense fog continues to blanket Pakistan, disrupting air travel and causing widespread inconvenience for passengers. A staggering 45 flights were canceled due to poor visibility, with passengers forced to rebook or find alternative transportation. This brings the total number of canceled flights in the first 19 days of the year to a staggering 516, highlighting the severity of the ongoing weather situation.
Sialkot was the worst-hit city on Thursday, with flights from Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Dubai, Doha, and Muscat all being diverted to Lahore due to the thick fog. The Jeddah-Lahore flight PF 717 had to wait for an hour before it could land in Karachi, further adding to the travel woes of passengers.
Flights to Dubai, Multan, Dammam, Kuwait City, and Karachi were all shifted to Islamabad, while several other routes, including Sialkot-Sharjah, Sialkot-Doha, Lahore-Karachi, Lahore-Sharjah, Lahore-Jeddah, Islamabad-Karachi, Multan-Jeddah-Dubai, Karachi-Dammam-Muscat, and Jeddah-Multan-Gwadar, were canceled altogether.
The ongoing fog disruptions have left many passengers stranded and frustrated. Social media is abuzz with complaints about canceled flights, missed connections, and long delays. Some passengers have reported being stuck at airports for hours on end, with little to no information from airlines about when their flights might resume.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that the fog is likely to persist in the coming days, raising concerns about further flight disruptions. Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates and to allow extra time for travel during this period.
