Pakistani passengers stranded in Bangkok airport for 2 days after technical glitch

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani passengers en route from Sydney to Pakistan have been stuck in Bangkok for the past two days after a technical issue with a Thai Airways flight, ARY News reported.

Passengers were initially left waiting for six hours at the Bangkok airport, hoping for an alternative flight, as per the reports. However, when no arrangements were made, Thai Airways cancelled the scheduled flight, leaving travellers in distress, as per ARY News.

The airline provided accommodation at a hotel located about an hour and a half from the airport, but the lack of proper facilities there added to the passengers’ hardships.

According to ARY News, many passengers also missed their connecting flights due to the airline’s mismanagement. Now stranded in Bangkok, the affected passengers have appealed to Pakistani authorities for assistance.

Meanwhile, Karachi-based airline Fly Jinnah is set to operate Dhaka-Karachi flights soon, Bangladeshi government officials said on Monday. After the launch of a direct shipping line between Chittagong in Bangladesh and Karachi in Pakistan, a direct air link between the two countries will be launched soon, they said.

“Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has approved a proposal of Fly Jinnah to operate direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan”, said Abdul Naser Khan, Additional Secretary to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. “We will sign a deal to resume Dhaka-Karachi direct flights”, he said, without elaborating.

Recently, Bangladesh signed a deal with Pakistan to import 50,000 tonnes of rice, the officials said. Bangladesh’s interim government had earlier lifted the visa restrictions against Pakistan.

In January, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Iqbal Hussain Khan said, “Now the relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have started a new era. The relations are going to be strengthened in multidimensional ways. The direct flights between the two countries have not yet been established. But it is a demand of the people of both the countries.

Khan also mentioned that Bangladeshi patients have begun travelling to Pakistan for medical treatment, further boosting people-to-people connections. (ANI)