Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be expanding its international operations with the resumption of flights on two key routes, restoring services from Lahore to Manchester after a five-year break and from Islamabad to Beijing.
On July 1, the national carrier will resume two-way flights from Lahore to Manchester, which it had suspended five years ago.
The first of the two flights will leave Lahore on July 1 and the second flight will return to Lahore from Manchester on July 2.
PIA will be running the service on Boeing 777. Airline officials reported that 175 people have already booked seats on the first flight from Lahore to Manchester.
The return flight from Manchester has also been extremely popular and all 310 seats are fully booked so far.
The Lahore to Manchester route is being restored after the suspension of PIA operations to the UK in 2020 on account of the ban on the airline.
Last year, the carrier restarted flights to Islamabad from Manchester and is planning to gradually restore other UK routes.
In yet another development, PIA will also launch its 2-way flights between Islamabad and Beijing from July 3, every week.
Read more: PIA announces to resume direct Islamabad-Beijing flights from July 3
The service had been suspended since April 10, as a result of the security situation in the Middle East.
Both routes will be restored, enhancing the connectivity of foreign Pakistanis, business travellers and tourists and bolstering PIA’s international network.
It has been trying to slowly reopen some of its major international routes as conditions improve and demand picks up.
PIA has seen significant passenger demand on its Manchester route and the resumption of the Beijing services and believes the new resumptions will enhance confidence in PIA’s international operations and help it expand on key international routes.
Also read: PIA flight on bound to Karachi makes emergency landing
