Overview
- PIA’s first direct London service in six years operated Sunday as PK-785 from Islamabad landed at Heathrow with 325 passengers.
- The airline begins an initial four weekly flights, with three from Islamabad and a weekly Lahore–London service starting Monday.
- Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London and Heathrow officials greeted the arrival after a send-off in Islamabad by senior Pakistani and UK diplomats.
- UK regulators barred PIA in 2020 after a fatal Karachi crash and pilot licensing concerns, then lifted the ban in July 2025, enabling a phased return that started with Manchester in October.
- The restart follows a December sale of a majority stake to an Arif Habib–led consortium, and PIA says the move restores direct links for about 1.6 million Pakistanis living in the UK.