Virgin Atlantic suspends flight operations to Pakistan

• Virgin Atlantic announced it will be suspending services to Pakistan
• The airline is ceasing operations between London to Lahore and Islamabad.
• It will continue to operate between London and Islamabad until July 9.

British airline Virgin Atlantic announced it will be suspending services between London Heathrow to Lahore and Islamabad.

In a statement, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “As we continue to ramp up our flying programme in 2023, we’ve taken the opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few changes.”

“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.”

“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 statement said Virgin Atlantic will continue to operate services between London and Lahore until May 1 and between London and Islamabad until July 9.

The airline said it would communicate to any customers due to fly after these dates – who will be affected by the cancellations – to provide options, which include rebooking, where applicable, or a full refund.

Virgin Atlantic launched flights from London Heathrow to Islamabad and Lahore and Manchester to Islamabad in the height of the pandemic in December 2020.

The airline said the routes were launched when many destinations, including the US, were closed for travel. It added that Pakistan routes were targeted to capture the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market which was one of the first sectors to recover.

The statement said as the airline is reviewing its network and ensuring resources are utilised in the most optimal way to achieve operational resilience in 2023.

The final Pakistan flight dates are:

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

Virgin Atlantic had commenced its flight operations for the country on December 13, 2020. The airline operated three routes from Pakistan to the United Kingdom, two from Islamabad to London and Manchester and one from Lahore to London.

The airline announced last year in September that it would not operate flights between Manchester and Islamabad during the winter.

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