Virgin Atlantic suspends flight operations in Pakistan

Islamabad: UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic is discontinuing its flight operations in Pakistan. The airline will end its London-Lahore service at the start of May and its London-Islamabad flight on July 9.

The decision comes as part of the company’s plan to focus on the recovery of its key routes while “reviewing its network and ensuring resources are utilised in the most optimal way to achieve op-erational resilience”, the airline said.

“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.” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.

The launch of Virgin Atlantic’s services to Pakistan in 2020 was described as “a sign of confidence in Pakistan’s aviation industry” and the country’s economic and tourism potential. Virgin Atlantic launched its flights to both Lahore and Islamabad in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic when many destinations were closed for travel.

The flights performed well because PIA was not operating on this route due to the EU and UK ban which still exists. Many people travel between the UK and Pakistan to visit their friends and family since the UK has one of the largest Pakistani diasporas in Europe, estimated to be more than 1.6 million.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone in Pakistan; our customers, teams, partners and the authorities for their support over the past two years” the airline spokesperson said. The passengers who have already booked flights with Virgin Atlantic to Pakistan or UK are advised to contact the airline for rebooking options or refunds.

Virgin Atlantic served 175,750 passengers from July 2021 to June 2022 based on statistics by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), making it the ninth largest foreign airline based on passenger traffic to and from Pakistan. The top three foreign airlines in Pakistan in terms of passenger volume are Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Saudia. Others in the top ten list are Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Turkish Airlines, Gulf Air, Etihad Airways and British Airways.