Islamabad (August 03, 2018): The Apex Court on Friday has summoned the owner of Shaheen Air on Tuesday, August 7, after the CJP took notice of Pakistani passengers stranded at an airport in China earlier this week.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, heard the case at the Lahore Registry today.
The airline’s regional director informed the bench that all airlines, with the exception of Saudi airlines, had been cancelled at Guangzhou airport. The official also told the court that only Shaheen Air operates flights from Lahore to Guangzhou.
Expressing his dissatisfaction at the official’s response, the chief justice ordered Shaheen Air to ensure all stranded passengers are brought back to Pakistan before Monday.
The court ordered the owner of Shaheen Air to appear before it on Tuesday, August 7, and directed the CAA to make available a report on the condition of the plane sent to fetch the passengers from China.
A Shaheen Air International flight will bring back Pakistanis stranded in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday, a spokesperson from the airline said.
The spokesperson said the airline’s plane landed in China earlier today and will take off with the stranded Pakistanis at 10:35pm local time.
As many as 300 Pakistanis were left stranded in the Chinese port city of Guangzhou after their Shaheen Air flight was abruptly cancelled on July 29, following a dispute over payment of arrears totalling over Rs1.5 billion between the airline and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The airline’s international operations — except Haj flights — were suspended several days ago by the CAA owing to the mounting debt.
The flight will carry the stranded passengers as well as those who booked their tickets for August 3, the spokesperson said, adding that the airline has been bearing food and accommodation expenses of passengers stuck at the airport since July 29.
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