Curtain falls on Virgin Atlantic operations in Pakistan as last jet departs for London
KARACHI – Curtain falls on British airline Virgin Atlantic’s operation in Pakistan and the last flight departed from Islamabad to London today on Sunday.
Crawley-based airliner started its operations in late 2020, and announced to halt operations in February this year. Following the announcement, Virgin Atlantic continues to operate services between London and Islamabad until today July 9.
The last flight VS-379 departed from Islamabad International Airport today to London’s Heathrow Airport.
British airline earlier started three flights to Heathrow Airport, and four to Manchester Airport. Later, the number was reduced.
Virgin Atlantic earlier announced making a few changes over ‘low yield operations’ as the reason behind the closure. A spokesperson of Virgin Atlantic announced the airline’s decision ‘with regret’ to shut the Pakistan-UK operations.
In a statement, the airline said “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused,” and it thanked Pakistani customers, teams, partners and the authorities for their support over the past two years.
The spokesman elaborated that suspending services to South Asian country will ensure its resources are utilised in the most optimal way to achieve operational resilience.
The closure of operations comes amid ban on Pakistan International Airlines regarding operating flights to the United Kingdom and Europe.
