Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced the resumption of direct flights to Toronto, Canada, the spokesman of the national carrier said.

In a statement, the spokesperson said that Canadian officials had allowed PIA to resume flights to Toronto. Flights had earlier been limited to cargo only on Pakistan-to-Canada routes due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in Pakistan.

The flight operations are expected to resume from June 22. However, other travel-related advisories relating to Canada will remain in place, PIA’s official said.

PIA cancels flights to Canada amid COVID-19 ban

In the initial phase, PIA will start three direct flights per week from Pakistan to Toronto.

The PIA chief executive officer (CEO) has assured the Canadian government that the airline will be following strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).

On April 23, the Canadian government had announced that it would be temporarily barring passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next 30 days, as part of stricter measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The decision was enacted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the opposition criticised the government’s lack of response in dealing with the third wave of the pandemic.