RAWALPINDI: The country’s national flag carrier has finalised a plan to operate direct flights from Karachi and Lahore to Azerbaijan’s capital and commercial centre, Baku.

A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said in a press release on Thursday that it would operate two direct flights a week to Baku; one from Karachi and the other from Lahore.

The first flight was scheduled to depart from Karachi’s Jinnah Interna­tional on Wednesday, while the other will take off from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International on March 19.

The spokesman said these flights would cater to the long-standing demand of citizens of both countries, especially Pakistanis residing in Azerbaijan.

He said Baku enjoyed a good repute as a tourist destination and now, passengers would be able to easily travel directly from Karachi and Lahore to Baku on direct PIA flights.

PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik has congratulated airline officials on finalising the flight arrangements, adding that plans to add more locations to the PIA network were also in the pipeline.

The CEO also directed the airline marketing and other sectors to provide best services to passengers in the light of the prime minister’s vision to promote tourism in the country.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022