https://arab.news/n58gj
- Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a PIA plane crash
KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume two weekly flights to the United Kingdom (UK) from Oct. 25, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday.
The statement came hours after the UK Civil Aviation Authority issued a Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit to PIA and cleared the final administrative hurdle for the carrier to resume flights to Britain, according to the Pakistani high commission in London.
Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. The disaster was followed by claims of irregularities in pilot licensing, which led to bans in the US, UK and the European Union.
“We have finally planned for the first flight to UK (Islamabad to Manchester & back) on 25 Oct 25, God willing with a weekly frequency of 02 flights,” Defense Minister Asif wrote on X.
The airline has already received the Third Country Operator (TCO) approval for flight operations in the UK, according to the Pakistani high commission.
After resuming flight operations to Manchester, the airline will begin flights to Birmingham and London in the second phase.
“PIA’s resumption to the UK will facilitate the more than 1.7 million Pakistani diaspora to travel conveniently to Pakistan,” the high commission added.
Britain is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral commerce worth about £4.7 billion ($5.7 billion) annually.
The Pakistan government, which has repeatedly bailed out the loss-making carrier, is pushing ahead with its privatization as part of a broader plan to reduce losses at state-owned firms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
PIA has accumulated more than $2.5 billion in losses over roughly a decade, draining public finances.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted its suspension in November 2024, allowing the airline to resume flights from Islamabad to Paris in January and later expand to Lahore–Paris in June. However, PIA suspended those services in recent months to prioritize resources for the UK relaunch. The airline remains barred from flying to the US.