ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed its operations to London after six years on Sunday, the airline said in a statement, as its PK-785 flight carrying 325 passengers departed for the British capital from Islamabad.
Britain banned the airline in 2020 after a deadly PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi killed 97 people in May of that year. The disaster was followed by allegations of irregularities in pilot licensing, also leading to bans by the US and the European Union (EU).
Flight PK-785 departed from Islamabad to London during an official ceremony which was attended by the Secretary of Defense Lt. Gen (retd.) Muhammad Ali and British High Commissioner Jane Marriott. Arif Habib, chairman of the business consortium that bought the recently privatized PIA at an auction last year, also attended the event.
“PIA’s first flight PK-785, carrying 325 passengers, departed from Islamabad to London,” the airline said in a statement.
Speaking on the occasion, Ali said direct flight operations will further strengthen relations between the government and the people of the two countries.
“PIA is committed to providing direct travel facilities to over 1.6 million Pakistanis living in the United Kingdom,” the airline added.
PIA resumed its UK operations in October 2025 with an inaugural flight to Manchester and the airline is currently operating four weekly flights to the city.
The PIA said it is also starting a weekly flight from the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore to London from Monday, Mar. 30.
Initially, the former national flag carrier will operate four weekly flights between Pakistan and London, including three from Islamabad and one from Lahore, it added.
PIA’s new owner Habib has vowed to expand the airline’s fleet, improve services for customers and add new international destinations to facilitate more passengers on additional routes.
