BEIJING: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has further cut down its fare in order to facilitate students and other passengers travelling from Pakistan to China with immediate effect. “Now, ex-Pakistan fare for students with taxes will be around Rs 248,000 while the ex-Pakistan fare for other passengers will be around RMB 10,000,” said official sources here on Saturday. Last month, the national flag carrier offered a discount from 10 percent to 15 percent and an additional seven percent discount on a surcharge for students wishing to travel between Pakistan and China. Currently, PIA is operating two weekly flights on Islamabad-Chengdu-Islamabad and Islamabad-Xian-Beijing-Islamabad routes. Pakistani students who wish to join their studies at Chinese educational institutes and other passengers planning to travel to China can benefit from the new discount. A large number of Pakistani students enrolled in Chinese universities could not return to China following Covid-19 travel restrictions. They are planning to come back to China to join offline classes as the Chinese authorities have allowed them to return. On June 20, a special PIA plane brought the first batch of Pakistani students from Islamabad to Xian. These students were stuck in their home country because of the travel restriction under the Covid-19 pandemic. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had increased student discounts from 10% to 15% and added an additional 7% surcharge discount, for a total discount of around 22% on flights between Pakistan and China. Additionally, the national flag carrier increased the student luggage allowance to 80 kilograms, an official of the airline informed.