Flydubai suspends flights to Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar till Oct due to 'operational issues'

Flydubai has suspended its flight operations from and to Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar till October 26 due to “operational reasons”, the airline’s flight inquiry in Pakistan said.

However, flight operations from and to Karachi will continue as usual, the airline confirmed.

Flydubai, a low-cost airline based in the United Arab Emirates, launched its operations in Islamabad and Lahore in July 2024, and commenced flights to Peshawar in May last year.

According to aviation monitor Flightradar24, flydubai’s flights between Islamabad and Dubai (FZ353, FZ354), Lahore and Dubai (FZ359, FZ360), and Peshawar and Dubai (FZ375, FZ376) were cancelled since at least May 7.

A statement on flydubai’s website, issued on March 31 — days after the Iran war began — says that the airline is “currently operating flights across its network with a reduced schedule”.

It advised passengers to regularly check flight status and operational updates for the latest information before heading to the airport.

While the statement did not mention the Middle East conflict that sparked on March 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, it said, “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 US-Iran war has resulted in a sharp spike in jet fuel prices, leading to air travel’s worst crisis in years.

Late last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the jet fuel crisis tied to the Iran war could hit Asia ​hardest first.

“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 head Willie Walsh said.