SHANGHAI: Thousands of Chinese gave a tumultuous welcome to the jet airliner of the Pakistan International Airlines when it landed in Shanghai this af ternoon on its inaugural flight.

The PIA Managing Director, Air Commodore Nur Khan, said that it was an occasion for great satisfaction for PIA, as never before had it faced so [many] obstructions, difficulties and skepticism as it did in starting this service.

Air Commodore Nur Khan, who was replying to the address of welcome on arrival of the inaugural flight at the Shanghai airport, added that never before has the PIA service received more cooperation and spontaneous welcome than it has in China.

He paid tributes to the Civil Aviation authorities in China for providing the necessary airport and other facilities within a few months to enable PIA to land its Boeing jetliners at Shanghai and Canton.

Air Commodore Nur Khan said that today`s event marked a new era not only in Sino-Pakistan civil aviation but also in world aviation.