Flight schedules to India, Pakistan and the South Asia region were disrupted for a second day on Thursday as the two nuclear powers traded drone and missile fire in an alarming escalation.
Latest updates: Etihad and Emirates cancel services to Pakistan until Saturday
Pakistan's airspace was closed for a period on Thursday morning, with operations at airports in Lahore, the southern port city of Karachi and the north-eastern city of Sialkot halted until noon at least. A number of Indian airports remain affected.
On Thursday, a drone, reportedly Indian, struck a building in Lahore, Pakistan's second-most populous city. While the airspace was open again on Thursday afternoon, certain airports remained closed, which was causing many airlines to suspend and cancel flights.
In the Gulf, Etihad said it had cancelled selected flights to and from Pakistan on Thursday "due to the continued closure of Pakistani airspace". The airline said flights EY296 and EY297 between Abu Dhabi and Karachi were still scheduled to go ahead as planned, subject to airspace availability.
However, the airline said that flights EY300 / EY301 between Abu Dhabi and Islamabad, EY288 / EY289 between Abu Dhabi and Lahore, EY294 / EY295 between Abu Dhabi and Karachi, EY302 / EY303 between Abu Dhabi and Islamabad as well as EY284 / EY285 between Abu Dhabi and Lahore were all cancelled on Thursday.
"This remains an evolving situation, and further changes or disruptions may occur. Etihad continues to monitor developments closely in co-ordination with the relevant authorities," read a statement from the airline. "The safety of our guests and crew remains our highest priority, and we regret any inconvenience caused."
Emirates has suspended all flights to Pakistan until Saturday.
"Emirates is suspending flight operations to all points in Pakistan until May 10, due to ongoing uncertainly surrounding access to the country’s airspace and airports," read a statement on the airline's website.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers. We are monitoring the situation closely and will post any operational updates on our website."
Customers can check the latest travel information by visiting the flight status page.
Flydubai said flights FZ391/392 to and from Faisalabad, FZ325/326 to and from Multan and FZ315/316 to and from Sialkot airports were running on Thursday. However, the airline said its remaining flights to Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot and Quetta have been cancelled for Thursday and Friday.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and amend our flight schedule accordingly,” said an airline representative. “The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers’ travel schedules.”
Along with Etihad and Qatar, Emirates was among those to halt flights on Wednesday from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha to airports in northern India and Pakistan.
International impact
“Due to the ongoing situation, our flights to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Dharamshala, Kandla and Amritsar are cancelled till 5.29am May 10,” SpiceJet said on social media.
Taiwan's EVA Air told travellers that “flights to and from Europe might be affected”, advising passengers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport.
Thai Air has advised passengers that “due to the closure of airspace and some airports in Pakistan after the conflict in South Asia, flights to destinations in Europe and South Asia will be rerouted which may cause delays in some flights”.
More than 430 flights were cancelled with 27 airports closed across northern, western and central India until Saturday, reported The Times of India on Wednesday afternoon.
Air India has also cancelled a number of flights due to the escalation. Flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot will remain cancelled until Saturday.
Budget airline Air India Express also notified visitors to its website that flights to and from Amritsar, Gwalior, Jammu, Srinagar and Hindon would be cancelled until Saturday.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
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Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
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Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
English Premiership semi-finals
Saracens 57
Wasps 33
Exeter Chiefs 36
Newcastle Falcons 5
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
