Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced the recommencement of its flight operations to Saidu Sharif — the capital city of Swat District — from 26 March onwards in compliance with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to promote domestic tourism.
As per the statement, the national flag carrier will operate bi-weekly flights to Saidu Sharif from Lahore and Islamabad. The flight routing will be Lahore—Islamabad—Saidu Sharif and will return every Friday and Monday.
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The renewal of the flight operations to the scenic valley will be a historic moment as they had been suspended for over a decade due to the law and order situation.
PIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Air Marshal Arshad Malik, met the Federal Minister for Communications, Murad Saeed, on Wednesday to review the final arrangements for the flight operations to Saidu Sharif. MNA Saeed who hails from Swat commended the airline’s efforts to resume the flights and extended his full support for them.
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The revival of flight operations will facilitate domestic tourists in reaching tourist spots like Mingora, Kalam Valley, and Malam Jabba quickly, and will provide the residents of the valley an air-link connection with both the other cities of Pakistan and international destinations.
CEO Malik has directed all of PIA’s concerned departments to provide their best services to the passengers on these routes to make the development successful.
PIA is committed to boosting tourism in Pakistan and is collaborating with the private sector in this regard. It recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a leading Hotel Management Group to offer joint packages to the Northern Areas.
