Direct PIA flights for Beijing from end October

BEIJING: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to launch direct weekly passenger flights on the Beijing-Islamabad-Beijing route by the end of this month (October).

Currently, the national flag carrier is operating a weekly flight on the Islamabad-Xian-Beijing-Islamabad route. The PIA plane leaves Islamabad on Saturday and arrives in Xian on the same day.

However, considering Pakistan as the only all-weather strategic partner of China and shared interest and cooperation in various areas between the two countries, the CAAC has accorded approval to PIA to start direct weekly operations to and from Beijing, said the official sources.

The CAAC has also asked the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to notify PIA to submit schedule filings for grant of the timely approval.

The Islamabad-Beijing-Islamabad direct passenger flight will facilitate passengers, especially those living in the Chinese capital including officials, traders and students. The flight will also facilitate Chinese personnel working on different projects being completed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan.

It may be mentioned here that PIA has also been operating direct weekly passenger flights between Islamabad and Chengdu, the capital city of China’s Sichuan province every Wednesday since March this year.

Earlier, the national flag carrier had increased discounts for students from 10% to 15% and an additional 7% discount on surcharge making a total of around 22% on the flights between Pakistan and China.