The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumes its first flight to Paris on Friday, January 10, following the European Union’s decision to lift a four-year-long ban.
Flight PK749 will departed from Islamabad at 12PM and marked the airline’s return to the European route. The national airline operated the Islamabad-Paris flight using a Boeing 777 aircraft.
The national airline was banned by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) from flying to the European Union and the UK in May 2020 following the crash of Flight 8303 from Lahore to Karachi, which killed 97 people.
The national carrier has also entered into a code-share agreement with Air France, which will allow passengers to travel to 21 cities across Europe, including destinations in the United Kingdom.
The popularity of the national airline’s flights to Europe can be gauged from the fact that all 329 seats, including 35 club class seats, were booked on the first flight.
The popularity of the Islamabad-Paris route has continued to grow, with all seats on round-trip flights for this week, including Friday’s, fully reserved.
The spokesperson of the national airline has confirmed that, all the tickets for the next three round-trip flights on the Islamabad-Paris route have also been completely booked.
According to the spokesperson, Air France will carry PIA passengers to 21 cities in the UK and Europe beyond Paris under the fare sharing agreement. The tickets for these flights will be issued by the national airline.
