Virgin Atlantic to Launch Pakistan Routes Post PIA Crash
British airline Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. has announced that they will be launching the operation of direct flights from Heathrow Airport to Islamabad and Lahore, and from Manchester Airport to Islamabad from December 2020.
Following the crash of the PIA aircraft 8303 on May 22nd, 2020 that killed 98 people including crew and pilot, British Airways sought permission again from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority to start the operation of direct flights to Lahore since PIA had been banned from operating flights for 6 months. BA had been on an 11-year hiatus since September 2008 after the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad bombing caused them to suspend their services in Pakistan. They only resumed their services here in 2019.
The announcement of Virgin Atlantic beginning flight operations came on Thursday, August 27th after Richard Branson, the billionaire founder and controller won creditor backing of £1.2 Billion ($1.6 Billion) for a rescue plan. The plan states that these new flights are reasonable since a large number of Pakistanis have relatives in the UK and numerous British people are of Pakistani origins with relatives here in the country, both of whom comprise a large portion of the market that require trips to visit their friends and family in either or both countries.
The airline has announced that they will begin taking bookings for the Heathrow-ISB, Heathrow-LHR, and Manchester-ISB direct flights from next month, September 2020. The details on aircrafts to be added used in their UK-PK fleet are yet to be announced.
Are you excited about this announcement? Let us know in the comments below and let your friends and family know that you’re coming to visit this Decemeber!
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