PIA’s first flight to Paris in four years returns to Islamabad

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight reached Islamabad from Paris on Saturday morning, the first in four and a half years, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

PK-750 touched down at Islamabad airport at 7:20 AM.

The flight had left Paris at 20:32 local time.

Earlier on Friday, PK-749, the airline’s first direct flight in four and a half years, carrying 317 passengers, had reached Paris from Islamabad.

The flight took eight hours to reach the French capital. A Boeing 777 was used for the purpose.

PIA is now operating two flights from Islamabad to Paris every week.

Addressing a ceremony at the Islamabad airport held to mark the resumption of the national flag carrier’s flights to Europe, Minister for Defence and Aviation Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that “a statement” led to the closure of a profitable route for the PIA, causing loss of hundreds of billions of rupees. “Our government through sheer hard work got these flights resumed in a shortest possible time,” he added.

The minister said that very soon flights to other European countries will start as well.

To celebrate the occasion, the PIA had decorated the aircraft with a model of the Eiffel Tower on its tail and the slogan “I Love Paris” on the nose. The Boeing 777 had been designed in line with the European Union aviation standards.

A PIA spokesman said the airline was now expanding its wings to Europe and would operate direct flights between Islamabad and Paris twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays.

He said the new service had been well-received, with full bookings for the first two flights.

The spokesman insisted that this direct route to Paris addressed a long-standing demand of the Pakistani community in France and Pakistan.

The airline had introduced a wireless in-flight entertainment system on the route, allowing passengers to access entertainment on their own devices. Additionally, the PIA has partnered with Air France to provide onward connections to 21 destinations across Europe and the UK via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).

The resumption of PIA flights follows the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) decision to lift the ban on Pakistani airlines operating in the EU countries. The ban, which had been in place for over four years, was lifted recently, enabling the PIA to resume services in Europe and the UK.