Today, Virgin Atlantic made the announcement that it would stop operating flights between London Heathrow and Lahore and Islamabad.
ALSO READ:
PIA ANNOUNCES SPECIAL UMRAH PACKAGE FOR PILGRIMS
According to a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic, “We’ve taken the opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few changes as we continue to expand our flying program in 2023.”
The spokesperson continued, “Unfortunately, in light of this review, we have decided to suspend our services between London Heathrow and Pakistan.”
“We have been pleased to provide customers traveling between Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan and London and Manchester in the United Kingdom with a variety of options ever since we started our operations in December 2020. We have also provided substantial cargo capacity and vital medical supply deliveries during that time”.
ALSO READ:
PAKITAN RAILWAYS TO LAUNCH BOOKING AND TRAVEL ASSIST APP
If this caused you any trouble, we sincerely apologize. We did not reach this conclusion hastily. We would like to sincerely thank everyone in Pakistan, including our clients, teams, partners, and the government, for their support over the past two years.
Up until May 1st, Virgin Atlantic will continue to run flights between London and Lahore, and up until July 9th, between London and Islamabad.
The airline promised to inform any passengers affected by the cancellations who were scheduled to travel after these dates and offer options, such as rebooking, where appropriate, or a full refund.
ALSO READ:
UNITED STATES ANNOUNES INTERVIEW EXEMPTIONS FOR PAKISTANI TRAVELLERS
In December 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Virgin Atlantic began operating flights between London Heathrow and Islamabad, Lahore, and Islamabad.
The routes were introduced at a time when travel to many places, including the US, was prohibited. One of the first sectors to recover on its routes through Pakistan was the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market.
Virgin Atlantic is reviewing its network and making sure resources are used as efficiently as possible to achieve operational resilience as it ramps up its flying program for 2023.
The following dates are the last for Pakistani flights:
- LHR-LHE VS364 departs 30th April 2023 at 21:55
- LHE-LHR VS365 departs 1st May 2023 at 12:25
- LHR-ISB VS378 departs 8th July 2023 at 21:55
- ISB-LHR VS379 departs 9th July 2023 at 12:40
