Shaheen Airline gets a blow from CAA
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KARACHI: Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has cancelled the permission for the scheduled international flight NL 221/224 of Shaheen Air International (SAI) of Islamabad-Dubai-Islamabad with effect from July 13.
In a letter served to SAI on Monday, CAA directed the airline to intimate the affected passengers accordingly to avoid any inconvenience. Moreover, the aviation regulatory body has requested Dubai bound passengers in referred flight from July 13 onwards to make alternative arrangements.
According to CAA, SAI is a defaulter of more than Rs1.25 billion of CAA with regard to various charges; however, SAI has alleged that the regulatory body is supporting Emirates Airline instead of local industry in a bid to facilitate Emirates’ new A380 service.
Earlier on Sunday Emirates Airlines’ double-decker A380 with a 625 passenger capacity landed at the new Islamabad International Airport (IIA) in a special one-off arrangement.
“We are proud to have operated this special A380 flight to Islamabad, the first time ever that our flagship aircraft has landed in Pakistan. The Emirates A380 is fundamental to our overall strategy, and bringing this popular aircraft to Islamabad represents a significant milestone in our operations to Pakistan, a country we flew our first ever flight to in 1985. We are very keen to now launch a scheduled A380 service to Pakistan and will continue to work with authorities to make these plans a reality,” said Sheikh Majid Al Mualla.
