British Airways is to resume Pakistan flights next summer, more than a decade after dropping the route amid security concerns.
The Oneworld carrier suspended its daily London Heathrow service to Islamabad in September 2008, in the wake of a bombing of the Marriott hotel in the city, which killed more than 50 people.
IAG-owned BA has today begun selling tickets for a new thrice-weekly Heathrow-Islamabad service which begins on 2 June 2019. The airline will deploy Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route.
Thomas Drew, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, describes the route launch as "a vote of confidence in the future of [UK-Pakistan] links – and, of course, a reflection of the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years". He adds: The return of British Airways will give a particular boost to our growing trade and investment links."
BA's head of sales for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Robert Williams, states: "It's exciting to be flying between Islamabad and Heathrow from next year, which we believe will be particularly popular with the British Pakistani community who want to visit, or be visited by, their relatives. Not only is it being operated on our newest long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but it will also be landing in to the new airport in Islamabad, which opened earlier this year."
FlightGlobal schedules data shows Pakistan International Airlines already serves Heathrow from Islamabad, as well from Karachi and Lahore.
Islamabad joins Osaka in Japan as a new Asian destination in the BA network for next summer.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
