The government on Saturday partially restored the domestic flights operation as the first flight from Karachi landed in Lahore in the afternoon but this did not come without a sting, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the TV channel, every passenger had to pay between Rs30,000 to Rs50,000 for a seat on the Karachi-Lahore flight which brought 86 passengers on it.

The domestic flight operation was restored in the country on Saturday as Flight No PK-8304 carrying 86 passengers left Karachi for Lahore at 1:30pm.

A spokesperson for the PIA said all the aircraft were being disinfected before leaving the airports while also following the social distancing SOPs vigorously.

It was mandatory for the passengers to wear masks and use hand sanitizers during the flights, he added.

Earlier on Friday, the government decided to partially restore the domestic flight operation, which means around one-fifth of the flights would now be allowed to operate.

According to a notification issued by the CAA, these flights would be operated from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.

The development came after the CAA earlier in the day extended the suspension of international flight operations till May 31.

However, it was said that the orders issued by the CCA will not apply to the special flights operated to repatriate the Pakistanis stranded abroad and those arranged other countries to transport their citizens stuck in Pakistan.

Later in the day, the PIA announced schedule for domestic flight operations, which said the airline will operate four flights daily from Karachi to Islamabad, Islamabad to Karachi, Karachi to Lahore and Lahore to Karachi.

The national flag carrier will fly four flights on every Monday including Karachi to Peshawar, Peshawar to Karachi, Karachi to Lahore via Quetta, and Lahore to Karachi via Quetta.

It will operate two flights on every Friday from Karachi to Islamabad via Quetta and Islamabad to Karachi via Quetta.