China cancels all flights to Pakistan

BEIJING: China has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan for safety reasons following a decision by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Friday. It has also rerouted international flights of Chinese airlines that used Pakistani air space while flying from one country to another. Flights to and from the Middle East usually fly over Pakistan.

The CAAC also notified domestic airlines to cancel their flights to Pakistan and cooperate with the air force to ensure the safety of flights and approve temporary flight plans.

The decision comes after Pakistan closed its airspace, resulting in disruption of flights to and from dozens of destinations in Asia and Europe. This has left thousands of air travellers stranded at airports across the world, reports reaching here said.

To tackle the worsening situation, China has offered the use of its own airspace to international flights that had been flying over Pakistan. More than 100 flights run by Chinese and international airlines have used Chinese airspace after the CAAC decision.