PIA allowed to resume flights to Canada

Toronto lifts ban on incoming Pakistani travellers

KARACHI:

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume its direct flight operations to Canada, spokesman of the national carrier said on Monday.

In a statement, the spokesman said the Canadian officials allowed PIA to resume flight operations to Toronto, which were previously banned in the light of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

The flight operations are expected to resume on June 22. However, other travel-related advisories pertaining will remain in place.

The Canadian authorities have expressed satisfaction with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) enforced by the national airline chief, the PIA spokesman said.

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In the first phase, PIA will restart three direct flights per week from Pakistan to Toronto with strict SOPs set in place.

It is pertinent to note that PIA has already vaccinated its entire crew and ground staff and will now start inoculating its passengers against Covid-19. It would be the first airline in the region to do so.

PIA chief Air Marshal Arshad Malik has instructed the officials to immediately start processing booking and purchase of tickets, the spokesman added.