PIA resumes direct flights to Paris after four-year suspension

After a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed its operations to Europe on Friday with a flight departing for Paris.

The first flight, PK-749, took off from Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) on Friday at 12:10 pm, utilising a Boeing 777 (AP-BGK) aircraft. The flight carried 330 passengers and 14 crew members.

Several senior officials, including Aviation Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, PIA CEO Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, and the directors general of the Civil Aviation Authority and Pakistan Airport Authority, attended the inaugural flight ceremony.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Khawaja Asif praised the efforts of PIA and Civil Aviation for making the European flights possible. He expressed gratitude to the European Union aviation officials for evaluating Pakistan's standards.

The minister acknowledged that PIA has incurred significant losses, amounting to hundreds of billions over the last four and a half years, and currently has a debt of 800 billion rupees, while profitable routes remain closed.

Photo - AFP

Khawaja Asif also criticised the former aviation minister’s statement, stating that it caused widespread damage to the aviation sector. He pointed out that for the past four and a half years, Pakistanis were forced to travel abroad at high costs.

He expressed pride in Pakistan’s ability to meet international standards, announcing that PIA will soon begin flight operations to the United Kingdom.

It must be noted that the airline has launched the route with a special livery, featuring a model of the Eiffel Tower on the tail and the slogan "I Love Paris" on the nose. The Boeing 777 has been refurbished to meet European Union aviation standards.

PIA plans to operate direct flights between Islamabad and Paris twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays. The airline has reported high demand, with the first two flights already fully booked. The route is expected to continue to draw significant demand, particularly from the Pakistani community in France.

To improve the in-flight experience, PIA has introduced a wireless entertainment system, allowing passengers to use their own devices to access media.

The resumption of the Islamabad-Paris route follows the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) recent decision to lift the ban on Pakistani airlines flying to EU countries. The ban had been in place for over four years but was lifted, enabling PIA to resume services to Europe and the UK.