LAHORE: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Thursday resumed direct flights between Lahore and Manchester after a gap of six years, marking the restoration of another key international route.
According to a PIA statement, flight 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 bid farewell to the passengers.
The development came hours after the first Manchester-to-Lahore flight departed from the UK on Wednesday night, officially restoring the direct air link between the two cities.
PIA said the revival of the Lahore-Manchester route would help strengthen people-to-people ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom. With the addition of the Lahore service, the national carrier now operates five weekly flights between Pakistan and Manchester, including four from Islamabad and one from Lahore.
Pakistani airlines were barred from operating flights to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States in June 2020 after a PIA plane crashed in Karachi, killing nearly 100 people. The restrictions followed safety concerns raised by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and remarks by then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who told parliament that many pilots’ licences were “dubious.”
EASA lifted its ban on PIA operations after more than four years on November 28, 2024. In July 2025, the UK removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, enabling Pakistani airlines to apply for permission to operate flights to Britain.
In September 2025, PIA secured approval to resume direct flights to the UK after an almost five-year suspension, with Manchester becoming the first destination to restart operations. Later, on January 8, the airline announced the resumption of direct flights to London, ending a six-year hiatus on that route as well.