Karachi (TDI): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed weekly flights to the United Kingdom on Saturday, ending a five-year hiatus.
The first flight departed from Islamabad for Manchester with 284 passengers aboard after the UK Civil Aviation Authority granted PIA a Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit, clearing the final regulatory hurdle.
The airline is operating two weekly flights initially, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and plans to gradually expand services to include London and Birmingham.
The suspension of UK operations in 2020 followed a fatal crash of a PIA Airbus A320 in Karachi, which killed 97 people, and subsequent concerns over pilot licensing. The bans placed by the UK, US and EU on Pakistani carriers were deeply tied to safety assurance and regulatory compliance issues.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, led the seeing-off ceremony at Islamabad airport and instructed PIA officials to enhance aircraft cabins and improve flight schedules as part of the relaunch.
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According to a PIA spokesperson, direct flights address the long-standing demand of over 1.6 million Pakistanis residing in the UK for improved connectivity.
Earlier, in November 2024, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted its suspension on PIA, permitting it to resume flights from Islamabad to Paris in January and from Lahore in June.
PIA had temporarily suspended those European services to focus resources on the UK relaunch. The carrier, however, remains barred from operating flights to the United States.
Britain is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral commerce valued at approximately £4.7 billion (about US$5.7 billion) annually.
The resumption of UK flights signals renewed confidence from international regulators and opening new avenues for connectivity, diaspora engagement, and trade growth.
Established in December 2008, The Diplomatic Insight is Pakistan’s premier diplomacy and foreign affairs magazine, available in both digital and print formats.
