The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has recovered 14 takeoff and landing slots at London Heathrow Airport that had been reassigned to foreign carriers during the period when PIA flights to the United Kingdom were suspended.
The slots were handed to other airlines following the ban on PIA operations to Britain and have now been restored to the national carrier, paving the way for additional flights between Pakistan and London.
According to details, under the winter schedule beginning in October, PIA will increase the frequency of its London flights from the federal capital Islamabad and Lahore.
Weekly flights from Islamabad to London are likely to rise from three to five, while Lahore-London weekly flights are expected to increase from one to two. The restored slots are also expected to boost connecting flights to London from Karachi and Sialkot.
Earlier this month, Arif Habib, the new owner, said the airlines fleet will be expanded to 64 aircraft from the existing 19 over the next several years as part of the carriers post-privatisation revival plan.
In the first phase, the airline will induct 38 narrow- and wide-body aircraft aged four to seven years, before increasing the fleet to 64 in the second phase.
Habib added that PIA can also increase the frequency of its flights to the UK, US and Canada, describing the region as a lucrative market for the airline. The fleet expansion is expected to support the carriers plans to add more international routes and frequencies in the coming years
