PESHAWAR: Construction of a new taxiway has affected flight operation at the Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar (BKIA) as foreign and national airlines suspended operation of wide-bodied aircraft indefinitely.

An official at the Civil Aviation Authority said on Friday that normal flight operation would likely resume from Sunday. He said construction of taxiway was started on Thursday and would be complete on Saturday.

`We expect that wide-bodied aircraft will resume flights from Sunday,` said the official, adding on average 13 international flights were operated at the airport daily.

It is worth mentioning here that former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had recently inaugurated the phase one of the airport`s expansion project prematurely. The expansion work included construction of arrival and departure lounges and parking area. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs3 billion.

Pakistan International Airlines, Shaheen Air, Emirates and Saudi Airlines have suspended flights, including Boeing 777 and Boeing 333, to the airport since last Thursday. The CAA official said flights of wide-bodied aircraft had been diverted to the newly-established Islamabad International Airport.

He said Emirates had cancelled flights for Peshawar for Friday and Saturday. He said passengers of affected flights were being informed about timings of the flights to avoid inconvenience.

Sources in CAA said repair of runway of the airport had long been overdue. The runway was expanded for wide-bodied aircraft in early 2000 with the financial assistance of a Middle East-based airline.