October 21, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 8, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: The UK International Airlines (UKIA) has launched its operations in Pakistan.

The first flight of the carrier with 120 passengers on board landed at the Islamabad International Airport on Saturday.

This month German carrier Lufthansa would also relaunch its operations in the country. Several other European airlines were also expected to fly Pakistan soon.

The UK carrier would fly twice to Islamabad from Nottingham via Sharjah. The flight frequency would eventually increase to six flights per week. The airline would operate Boeing 767s to Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference here after arrival of the inaugural flight (IH-003), Chairman UKIA Haji Abdul Khaliq said the airline would serve halal food on board and special care would be taken to make the travel of Muslim families as comfortable as possible.

The Pakistan International Airlines would provide ground-handling facilities to the UK airline at the Islamabad airport.