Flight operations faced disruption at Lahore Airport in Pakistan following a fire incident in the immigration system of Allama Iqbal International Airport on Thursday. According to reports from Geo News, the fire originated from a short circuit in the ceiling of the immigration counter. The incident occurred around 5:23 AM, with authorities managing to extinguish the fire by 8 AM.
A video of the same surfaced on social media platform X, depicting smoke engulfing the airport premises.
As per the media reports, the first departure scheduled from Lahore was halted, with seven other international flights experiencing delays owing to thick smoke. Despite challenges, Civil Aviation Authority personnel extinguished the blaze.
However, the immigration process for Haj pilgrims resumed from the domestic counter subsequently. As per reports, no injuries were reported in connection with the fire incident.
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Authorities have initiated an investigation into the cause of the fire, as per the local media reports.
"The firefighters and rescue teams quickly reached the spot and managed to control the fire with no loss of life reported," CAA said, as reported by news agency PTI. It further said that the passengers present at the immigration area were rescued and shifted to the domestic lounge
The entire immigration system was damaged due to fire.
The CAA stated that the fire incident caused a delay in Hajj, international and domestic flights, adding, “The airport staff is conducting manual immigration of passengers”.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, taking notice of the fire incident at the immigration area at Lahore airport, sought a detailed report and ordered a thorough investigation of the incident, as reported by PTI.
Naqvi also directed the immigration counter to be made functional as soon as possible for the convenience of passengers.