In a first, PIA plane will fly Pakistan cricket team directly to South Africa

LAHORE – For the first time in history, the national flag carrier PIA will fly directly to South Africa along with the national cricket team for the upcoming bilateral cricket series.

A special chartered flight, in a Boeing 777, will leave for Johannesburg on March 26.

Reports in local media suggest PCB had requested for a chartered plane from the national flag-carrier owing to the health of the players who can be exposed to the coronavirus while travelling on a commercial flight. 

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a permit to the special PIA flight, allowing it to bring along Pakistani passengers on its way back on March 27.

According to a PIA spokesperson, the Pakistani embassy in Johannesburg has initiated preparations to register the names of the civilian passengers who will travel on the rare flight. He said that South Africa is one of the Category-C countries and assured that all coronavirus SOPs specified by the Pakistan government will be implemented on the flight.