Virgin Atlantic to start direct flights between Britain and Pakistan in December

Virgin Atlantic will in December start services between Britain and Pakistan, where local airlines face a ban on flying to most European destinations due to a scandal over unqualified pilots.

Virgin, 51% owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and 49% by US airline Delta, said its flights will go on sale next month, becoming the second western carrier after British Airways to serve destinations in the country.

“We’re thrilled to announce that from December, we’ll be flying direct to Pakistan,” said a tweet from Virgin, whose trade creditors on Tuesday voted in favour of a 1.2 billion pound ($1.6 billion) rescue plan.

“We’ll have flights from Heathrow to both Lahore and Islamabad, plus direct service from Manchester to Islamabad,” the tweet said.

Advertisement

We’re thrilled to announce that from December, we’ll be flying direct to Pakistan. We’ll have flights from @HeathrowAirport to both Lahore and Islamabad, plus direct services from @manairport to Islamabad. Flights go on sale in September, and we can’t wait to welcome you. pic.twitter.com/61FS9dkaFb

— virginatlantic (@VirginAtlantic) August 27, 2020