Virgin Atlantic to begin flights to Pakistan in Dec

Aims to facilitate expatriate Pakistanis in UK, US

ISLAMABAD:

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will launch flights to Pakistan from December this year in a bid to facilitate Pakistani diaspora in the UK and the US, who want to visit the country.

In a statement on Thursday, the airline said Pakistan had the seventh largest diaspora in the world and the new services were aimed at assisting overseas Pakistanis in the UK and the US desiring to visit friends and relatives back in Pakistan.

According to the statement, the airline aims to capture the demand for business travel to the region through its latest move as global economies gradually recover from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK, customers can book flights to Pakistan from London or Manchester while in the US, the airline will operate flights to Pakistan from New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and San Francisco via London.

 The airline has announced three routes to Pakistan from the UK ie London-Lahore, London-Islamabad and Manchester-Islamabad.

“These direct flights and new services will go on sale in September 2020 subject to applicable regulatory approvals,” the statement said. “Connections from European destinations will also be available through codeshare and interline partners.”

Alongside passenger flights, the airline has also announced cargo service to facilitate companies intending to export and import goods between Pakistan and markets of the UK and the US.

“Virgin Atlantic starting flights to Pakistan is great news for hundreds of thousands of people who regularly travel between our two nations as well as a boost to UK-Pakistan trade links,” said British High Commission in Pakistan Acting Head Alison Blackburne. “We look forward to welcoming Virgin Atlantic to this fantastic country.”

Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Juha Jarvinen added that with travel restrictions remaining in place for many destinations around the world, the airline was continually evaluating its network, customer demand and where opportunities existed to launch new services.

He termed flights to Pakistan an exciting opportunity given the fact that Pakistanis made up a massive chunk of foreignborn population in both the UK and the US.

“As people start to travel to visit loved ones, we are anticipating the demand to visit friends and relatives to increase post-Covid-19,” he said.

“Both Lahore and Islamabad are popular year-round destinations and we look forward to welcoming travellers onboard as demand for leisure and business travel gradually increases to the region.”

Virgin Atlantic restarted flying passengers on July 20, 2020 after a three-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and “is currently operating flights to New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Barbados and Miami”, the statement said.