British airline Virgin Atlantic has announced the suspension of its services to Pakistan on Monday.
In a press release, the airline said it was ceasing operations between London, Lahore and Islamabad.
“As we expand our flying program into 2023, we have taken the opportunity to review our entire network and have decided to make some changes. Following this review, it is with regret that we have decided to close London. “We have made the difficult decision to suspend our services between Heathrow and Pakistan,” the press release quoted a spokesperson as saying.
The spokesperson said it was not a decision “taken lightly” and apologized for any inconvenience.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone in Pakistan. To our customers, teams, partners and authorities for their support over the past two years,” the spokesperson said.
It added that the airline will continue to operate between London and Lahore till May 1 and between London and Islamabad till July 9.
The airline said it would communicate with any customers due to fly after those dates, as well as those affected by the cancellation, such as “rebooking, where applicable, or full refunds.” ” about providing such options.
According to the press release, the last flight dates to Pakistan are:
- LHR-LHE VS364 departs on April 30 at 21:55.
- LHE-LHR VS365 will depart on May 1 at 12:25.
- LHR-ISB VS378 departs on July 8 at 21:55.
- ISB-LHR VS379 departs on July 9 at 12:40.
Virgin Atlantic started flight operations to the country on 13 December 2020 after approval from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. At the time, the airline operated three routes from Pakistan to the UK: two from Islamabad to London and Manchester and one from Lahore to London.
However, the airline had announced in September last year that it would not operate flights between Manchester and Islamabad during the winter season, calling it a “business decision”.
