PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said that the national flag carrier would have sent its aircraft to Libya earlier.But the clearance from the Foreign Office only arrived on Friday, according to which, we can begin operating to Libya from March 7,he said.  PIA is expected to bring back around 3,000 Pakistanis stranded in Libya and nearby locations through seven relief flights.

According to a press release, managing director, PIA, Nadeem Khan Yousufzai has ordered five flights to Tripoli, Libya and one each to Djerba, Tunisia and Istanbul, Turkey.The flights will be operated by the airline between March 7 and 11, 2011.Meanwhile,Tajwar said the airline may increase the number of flights to Tripoli depending on the situation on ground.