Shaheen Air International (Karachi International) briefly suspended Hajj charter flights on August 30, 2018, after the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PkCAA) said that the carrier's licence had expired, Dawn has reported. The carrier has since resumed operations on the basis of a special, temporary permit from the authorities.

On August 30, the PkCAA said that since the regular public transport licence, renewed on a quarterly basis, expired that day, Shaheen Air International should not continue passenger flight operations. The authorities also ordered the carrier to organise alternative flights for around 350 Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia.

"There is no [licenced] aircraft available on the airline's inventory," the PkCAA said of Shaheen Air.

The airline said that such a move violated earlier agreements between Shaheen Air and the PkCAA. Despite an ongoing legal battle over an alleged PKR1.4 billion rupee (USD11.3 million) tax debt, the airline hoped that it would be allowed to operate the Hajj services without interventions by the authorities.

"CAA had assured us that no action would be taken during the post-Hajj operation to ensure smooth management of the journey of the pilgrims who will be coming back to their homeland after performing the blessed pilgrimage," Shaheen Air stated.

On Saturday, September 1, the authorities granted the airline a special permit to resume Hajj services to Saudi Arabia, The News has reported. It is unclear for how long the permit is valid.

Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that the carrier's only active aircraft, an A330-200 AP-BMI (msn 811), flew back to Karachi International from Jeddah International in the morning of August 30. It subsequently resumed flights on the evening of September 1, and has since operated daily to Madinah.

Shaheen Air International suspended its scheduled flights after the PkCAA raided the carrier's headquarters on August 17. At that time, the authorities allowed the airline to operate Hajj charters exclusively to each of Madinah and Jeddah. Since August 19, Shaheen Air has flown exclusively to these two destinations using its sole A330-200. Three other aircraft of the type, as well as two A320-200s, are currently grounded.

The authorities allege that Shaheen Air was collecting departure tax from its passengers, but failed to remit these dues to the tax collectors. The airline reportedly provided a bank guarantee covering the entire sum on August 24, but the PkCAA has not yet acknowledged that the debt has been settled.