KARACHI (Kashmir English): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced that it will resume nonstop flights to Manchester, United Kingdom, starting October 25.
The announcement came via a post on the national flag carrier’s X account.
The flight operations will bring “loved ones closer once again,” the post read, as PIA announced reconnecting Islamabad and Manchester.
It comes on the next day when the Pakistan High Commission in London announced that the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued the Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit (FOP), the final clearance required for commercial operations.
The High Commission stated that in the second phase, flight operations will be expanded to Birmingham and London.
The resumption of flights to the UK is being seen as a major relief to over 1.7 million Pakistanis living in the UK.
The national flag carrier had secured the Third Country Operator (TCO) certification from UK authorities in September.
PIA also to operate cargo flights
Meanwhile, a letter issued by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed permanent approval for PIA to operate cargo flights from Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore to Britain.
The designations under the UK’s ACC3 aviation security framework are valid until August 2030.
The UK and European aviation authorities had banned PIA from operating flights in July 2020 following the “fake pilot licence scandal”.
In 2021, Pakistan was placed on the UK’s Air Safety List due to serious safety concerns. Since then, Pakistani and British aviation regulators have worked closely to address the concerns.
