Virgin Atlantic to suspend operations in Pakistan

British airline to suspend Lahore-London services as of May 1, Islamabad-London services as of July 9

British airline Virgin Atlantic is set to suspend its operation in Pakistan, an announcement by the company stated on Tuesday.

After commencing its operations in December 2020, the airline said in a press release that all its Pakistan operations will be ceased as early as July.

"Virgin Atlantic will continue to operate services between London and Lahore until May 1 and between London and Islamabad until July 9", the statement read.

According to the details, the final Pakistan flight dates are:

• LHR-LHE VS364 departs 30 April 2023 at 21:55
• LHE-LHR VS365 departs 1 May 2023 at 12:25
• LHR-ISB VS378 departs 8 July 2023 at 21:55
• ISB-LHR VS379 departs 9 July 2023 at 12:40

The airline has also said that its teams "will communicate with any affected customers due to travel after these dates to share their options which include rebooking (if applicable) or a full refund".

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Meanwhile, it cautioned that customers who had made the bookings through agents or other such third parties should contact them to discuss their options.

Virgin Atlantic maintained that the decision was not something it takes lightly and offered apologies for any inconvenience caused to its customers while thanking their "customers, teams, partners and the authorities for their support over the past two years".

A spokesperson for the airline said that the decision to pull out was followed by a review of the Virgin Atlantic network aimed at "ensuring resources are utilised in the most optimal way to achieve operational resilience".

“Following this review, it is with regret that we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our services between London Heathrow and Pakistan. Since commencing operations in December 2020, we have been proud to offer choice for customers travelling between London and Manchester in the UK, and Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. During that time, we have also provided important cargo capacity, as well as delivering vital medical supplies", the statement added.

It may be noted that the airline had previously announced it would suspend its Manchester and Islamabad operations for the winter in September.