Pakistan: Emirates and Etihad Airways Resume Flights to Taliban Rocket Attack Airport in Peshawar

Emirates International Airlines and Etihad Airways are to resume flights to and from the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, Pakistan, a month after the airport was subject to a Taliban rocket attack.

On 24 June Pakistan International Airlines flight 756, carrying 178 passengers heading from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was fired on as it landed at the Bacha Khan Airport, killing a female passenger on board. The Taliban subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the attack, several airlines including Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Saudi Airlines, Emirates and Etihad all suspended flights to Peshawar, which lies on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan and is one of the Taliban's key strongholds.

Etihad announced that flight operations will resume from 1 August, while Emirates will begin flights from tomorrow [24 July]. The two announcements follow an earlier resumption of flights to and from Peshawar by Qatar Airways.

The Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar previously came under Taliban rocket attack in December 2012, where nine people were reportedly killed, including militants, and several others injured.