NADER BUNERI
PESHAWAR, OCT-16: Owing to suspension
of night time operation at Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar, the
pilgrims and other passengers traveling from various countries facing severe
difficulties as the airport lounge and car parking lacks facilities to
accommodate passengers of several airlines coming simultaneously during day
time operation.
The pilgrims traveling from Saudi
Arabia has complained that due to suspension of night time operation hundred of
passengers who reached Karachi were forced to stay at night in Karachi airport
as operation at Peshawar Airport have been suspended for night time due to
security concern.
The recipients of passengers who
coming to Peshawar Airport from the far flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
parking their cars at Mall road and main Bara road as several airlines take off
at a time as the day service starts at the Airport.
The pilgrims who have families
and children badly suffering along with their luggages as they coming by feet from the Airport building
to Mall road and Bara road to hire taxi and or get access to their relatives recipients.
Moreover the closure of old
Airport road which is linked with Sir Syed road and Khyber road is also causing
great rush in front of Peshawar Airport and Bara road as all people using this
one rout of Bara road for entry to the airport. If traffic on main airport road
gets resume, it will resolve 80 percent problems for the passengers and they
will easily make their way to get access to their recipients.
In this connection when Duty
Manager Civil Aviation authority was contacted, he said that this situation
will continue until resumption of night services and closure of main airport
roads. He said that if high ups of army allow the opening of main airport road,
then it will ease the traffic on Bara road.
He added that earlier government
had managed buses for pilgrims to travel Haji camp Hayatabad but passengers had
avoided that service in the previous year that is why no conveyance facilities
have been arranged this time.
When asked about the resumption
of night operation he said that it will take several weeks as the situation is
not satisfactory in the surrounding areas of Peshawar .
When this correspondent himself
visited the heavy traffic point at Bara road it was presenting a disappointing
looks as neither provincial nor the federal government is ready to take interest
and smoothly manage the situation. The suspension of night time operation is
not the solution of stopping the attacks on airlines but strict security
measures and collecting of weapons from the nearby population would minimize
the risk.
Until full proof security
arrangement and vigilant performance security agencies no one could guarantee
peace in the city and even militants can attack Airlines even at day time. Restoration
of night time operation may reduce this rush of passengers as 18 flights of
night shift now have been diverted to day time which causing severe
inconvenience to the masses.
It is mandatory upon the government
to restore this night time operation and ensure security of the airlines at all
cost as it is further tarnishing the image of Pakistan at international level.
Due to limited area and dense
population, Peshawar Airport is not in the position to fulfill the needs
of this province and it is direly needed that civil aviation authority and
federal government should approve a new site to shift and reconstruct Bacha Khan International Airport
END
