(AFP News): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced that it will resume direct flights to London from March 2026, ending a six-year suspension of the route. A PIA spokesperson said the national carrier will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London starting March 29, 2026.
The flights will depart from Heathrow Airportâs Terminal 4. âThese flights are being resumed after a long gap of six years,â he added, emphasizing that London was PIAâs first-ever international destination and continues to be one of its most important routes. The spokesperson also noted that PIA is already operating three weekly flights to Manchester. PIAâs flights to the EU had been suspended in June 2020 after the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) barred Pakistani airlines over safety concerns, following a crash of a Lahore-Karachi flight near Jinnah International Airport that killed around 100 passengers.
The ban came amid allegations by then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan regarding âdubiousâ pilot licenses. EASA lifted the ban on November 28, 2024, and in July 2025, the UK removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, allowing Pakistani airlines to apply for flights to Britain. In September 2025, PIA received approval to resume direct flights to the UK. Operations to Manchester were resumed in the first phase, with plans to extend services to Birmingham and London in the following phase.
