KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed direct flights between Lahore and Manchester after six years, with the first flight from Punjab’s capital taking off on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by PIA, PK-709 departed from Lahore with 325 passengers on board.

An inaugural ceremony was held at Lahore airport, where PIA Chief Operating Officer Khurram Mushtaq saw off the passengers, the statement said.

Hours ago, the first flight destined for Lahore left Manchester on Wednesday night.

The PIA statement said the resumption of flights on the Lahore-Manchester route would help strengthen “people-to-people ties” between the two countries.

PIA now operates five weekly flights between Pakistan and Manchester, the statement said, adding that these included four flights from Islamabad and one from Lahore.

Pakistani flights had been banned from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the US in May 2020, after one of its aircraft crashed in Karachi, killing nearly 100 people on board.

The European Union Air Safety Agency had barred PIA from operating in EU countries over safety concerns, and the ban on flights followed the then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s statement on the floor of parliament, where he termed pilots’ licences “dubious”.

The European agency lifted the ban after more than four years on Nov 28, 2024. In July 2025, the UK also removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, allowing Pakistani airlines to apply to operate flights in Britain.

In September 2025, PIA received approval to resume direct flights to the UK after a gap of nearly five years. The airline subsequently restarted operations, with Manchester becoming the first destination.

On Jan 8, PIA announced that it would also resume direct flights to London, ending a six-year hiatus.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026