PIA has secured Heathrow summer 2025 season slots from Vietnam Airlines with a view to restarting flights to Karachi and Lahore six days a week.

PIA was banned from UK and European Union airspace on safety grounds in July 2020. UK and European safety officials revoked the carrier’s licence after pilots across Pakistan’s aviation industry were found to be taking bribes to sit exams for new entrants. Officials were alerted after a crash in Karachi.

The EU has already readmitted the carrier, with PIA resuming flights to Paris on 10 January, however, it is still awaiting the go-head from the UK. Currently, British Airways is the only non-stop link to Pakistan, operating to the capital Islamabad, with most traffic being indirect using the Gulf carriers.

CAA and Department for Transport officials are known to have been in talks with PIA recently. TTG has contacted both for comment.

PIA’s attempt to re-enter the UK market comes as the Pakistan government prepares to undergo a second attempt to privatise the airline. A first attempt in October 2024 attracted only one bidder, a consortium of investors who failed to offer anywhere near the required price.