Business Desk 
Mar 16, 2025
An undated image of the PIA plane. — PIA
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume flights to the United Kingdom after Eidul Fitr. Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK Dr Muhammad Faisal announced this at an iftar dinner in London.
Initially, the London and Manchester flights to Pakistan will resume with plans to re-open the services from Birmingham soon. Dr Faisal further announced that the reopening of flights would also feature an official opening ceremony inviting media representatives.
Pakistan is taking this step as it seeks to restore its aviation relations with the UK after a lengthy shutdown. On January 10, 2025, PIA resumed its flights to Europe, operating its first flight to Paris following a four-and-a-half-year ban enforced by the European Union (EU).
Additionally, in June 2020, the EU banned PIA flights after a disastrous plane crash in Karachi and safety issues related to forged pilot licenses. The EU lifted the ban after PIA fulfilled safety criteria and resumed its routes to Europe.
Meanwhile, PIA is going to be privatised by July 2025, as ordered by the government. In a previous privatization attempt, a real estate developer was mistakenly selected as the sole bidder, offering just Rs10 billion instead of the minimum required Rs85 billion.
