PIA opposes Virgin Atlantic flights from Pakistan

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has opposed the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) decision to allow Virgin Atlantic flights from Pakistan, and decided to raise the issue at the highest level, sources said on Thursday.

The sources said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened an important meeting on the national flag carrier next week, which will be attended by the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar, PIA Chief Executive Officer Air Marshal Arshad Malik, the CAA director general and the relevant officials.

Britain’s Virgin Atlantic launched its flights for Pakistan last week, with its maiden flight from Manchester landing in Islamabad on December 11. Virgin Atlantic is the second UK airlines to operate in Pakistan after the British Airways.

According to PIA officials, the national carrier had been facing problems because of the European Air Safety Agency ban. They said that allowing the British airlines to operate two-way base flights was an injustice as the private airlines would affect the PIA financially.

The officials said that the PIA was operating 28 flights to the UK and despite the restrictions, the flights were being operated by alternative means. They added that the PIA administration was opposed to handing over the London and Manchester routes to the foreign airline.

According to sources, the PIA CEO would take up the matter with the prime minister and apprise him of his concerns regarding foreign airlines’ operations. He would also brief the prime minister on the performance and challenges of the national airline.

Malik will raise the issue of travel restrictions on PIA and permission for flights to foreign airlines by civil aviation, the sources added. The financial issues of the PIA, the new policy and the issue of giving routes to the Virgin Atlantic will also be discussed.