BANGKOK, Dec 12: Thai Airways said on Wednesday it was resuming flights to Pakistan and routes to Europe that fly over Iran, which had been suspended at the start of US-led strikes against Afghanistan.

The flag carrier said it would re-launch Pakistan flights to Karachi on Dec 16 and to Lahore on Dec 25 and flights to Europe that follow a time-saving path over Iran resumed on Monday.

“The management has approved, with immediate effect, Thai Airways International’s resumption of its flight operations to Europe via Iran,” the airline said in a statement.

“The flight route is safe to operate normal flights and will reduce flight time between 20-30 minutes.”

After a meeting led by chairman and acting president Virabongsa Ramangkura, Thai Airways said it had been “informed that the situation in the Middle East has improved and the Pakistan Civil Aviation has reconfirmed that it is safe for airlines to enter its air space.”

The flag carrier halted flights to Pakistan on Oct 8 following the launch of the strikes against Afghanistan a day earlier.

The resumption of flights to the destinations was in line with other major international carriers operating the same routes, the airline added.

In early December, Thai Airways slashed by half the number of flights to Los Angeles as part of a raft of measures to cushion the blow of falling ticket sales since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.—AFP