After Islamabad, PIA to resume flights to London from Lahore

After announcing flights from Islamabad, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said that it will be operating flights from Lahore to London from March onwards.

In a notification on Thursday, PIA said that the first flight, PK-757, will depart from Lahore to London on March 30.

Flights from Lahore to London will land at Terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport, the press release said.

The national carrier said that with the commencement of these flights, the weekly number of PIA flights to the United Kingdom will become seven.

Since 2020, there have been no direct flights between Pakistan and airports north of London.

Before the ban, PIA was operating 10 weekly flights from Pakistan to London.

Last year in December, PIA announced the resumption of flights from Islamabad to London from March 29, after a six-year hiatus.

In a notification, the national carrier said that it will operate four weekly services from the ‘state-of-the-art’ Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport.

In October, PIA resumed direct flights to Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), after a five-year hiatus.

The return followed the UK’s decision to remove PIA from its Air Safety List on 16 July. According to a statement sent to Business Recorder, this move was predicated on technical audits and demonstrable improvements in the airline’s aviation safety standards.

It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan government on Tuesday concluded the sale of a 75% stake in its national carrier, for Rs135 billion, giving an end to years of stalled efforts to privatise the loss-making airline.