Virgin Atlantic to suspend Pakistan operations after network review

KARACHI: Virgin Atlantic will stop flying to Pakistan from mid-July March after launching services to the country less than three years ago.

The airline said the decision to suspend flights from Heathrow to Pakistan had been taken following a review of its entire network. “As we continue to ramp up our flying programme in 2023, we’ve taken the opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few changes," a spokesman for the airline said in a statement.

“Following this review, it is with regret that we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our services between London Heathrow and Pakistan." The carrier first started flying to Islamabad and Lahore from Heathrow in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic when many of Virgin Atlantic’s traditional markets in the United States and the Caribbean were effectively shut or heavily restricted.

"During that time, we have also provided important cargo capacity, as well as delivering vital medical supplies," the spokesman said. “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone in Pakistan; our customers, teams, partners and the authorities for their support over the past two years.”

Virgin Atlantic pivoted to Pakistan at the same time that the country’s flag carrier, PIA, was banned from operating flights to the UK and Europe because of a pilot qualification scandal. PIA was forced to suspend flights to the UK and Europe in early 2020.

Virgin Atlantic said it will continue to operate services between London and Lahore until May 1 and between London and Islamabad until July 9. "We will communicate to any customers due to fly after these dates - who will be affected by the cancellations - to provide options, which include rebooking, where applicable, or a full refund." The airline said suspending services to Pakistan will ensure its resources are ‘utilised in the most optimal way to achieve operational resilience’.