UAE-based airline Emirates announced in a statement that it has suspended passenger services from Pakistan after a few passengers tested positive for COVID-19, reported Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
"Following the announcement of positive COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong relating to certain passengers who travelled on our flights, Emirates has taken the decision to temporarily suspend passenger services from Pakistan, from June 24," the airline's spokesperson told the UAE based publication in a statement.
The publication also reported that the Emirates said it will keep on continuing its cargo and repatriation flights to Pakistan as per the announced schedule. It also stated that it was working hard to resume normal services to Pakistan soon.
According to reports, 26 passengers had tested positive for coronavirus on an Emirates flight to Hong Kong on June 20. The publication stated that all of the 26 came from Pakistan and were in transit in the Dubai airport. Later, the passengers took another Emirates flight to Hong Kong.
The Dubai based airliner had resumed its service to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to bring back stranded UAE residents.
According to Khaleej Times, the Emirates also said that it was coordinating with the various authorities in Pakistan and will resume the service after reviewing the flight suspension.
"We remain committed to serving our customers in Pakistan and are working hard to resume services as soon as possible. In the meantime Emirates will continue to operate repatriation flights into Pakistan as per the announced schedule, and operate cargo services that support the trade and movement of goods between Pakistan, UAE and our global network," the spokesperson was quoted by the publication.
"The health and safety of our crew, customers and communities remains our top priority. Emirates has put in place a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey on the ground and in the air, to minimise the risk of infection spread," the spokesperson said.
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