Daily Times

The first British Airways flight landed in Islamabad on Monday as the airline began its first service between the UK and Pakistan in 10 years.

A British High Commission team along with the federal minister for aviation, advisor to the prime minister on commerce, textile, industry & investment, and advisor to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis and chairman PTDC welcomed the aircraft in Islamabad as both the Union Flag and Pakistan’s National Flag were waved from the cockpit roof hatch. Onboard the first flight from London was Andrew Brem, chief commercial officer at British Airways.

The British Airways has officially opened an office in Islamabad for the airline’s local dedicated team, which is testament to the investment the airline is making in the country.

British High Commissioner Thomas Drew, Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Brem and Chief Pilot of the inaugural flight Captain Rod Young met Prime Minister Imran Khan.

UK’s International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said, “The re-launch of British Airways flights between the UK and Pakistan after more than ten years will be a major boost for trade between our two countries.” He said it was no surprise that it was an iconic British airline – the first Western airline to fly return to Pakistan, a symbol of the strong and growing relationship between our two countries. “I congratulate the British Airways team, the British High Commission and the impressive efforts of the Pakistani government for making this happen. We are confident that British Airways will act as a catalyst to bring even more British companies to one of the world’s largest markets.”

Speaking on the occasion, Thomas Drew said, “Today is a big day for the UK and Pakistan. With British Airways’ new direct service between London and Islamabad, Britain’s flag carrier is back. The two countries, already so close in so many ways, take a step closer… British Airways is the first European airline to return to Pakistan after more than 10 years. This flight is a symbol of the extraordinary links between our two countries – from commerce, culture and cricket to people, politics and education. I see this new service as a vote of confidence in the future of those links. It will give a particular boost to trade and investment. And it is of course tribute to the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years. Welcome back.”

Chief Commercial Officer at British Airways Andrew Brem said, “Today is a great occasion for British Airways as we resume flights to Islamabad after a decade. The atmosphere on board our state-of-the-art 787 aircraft was spectacular, as was the warm welcome on the ground. British Airways has a proud history of flying to Pakistan – we first operated flights to Islamabad in 1976 – and we couldn’t be more excited to be back.”

Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said, “I welcome the initiative of British Airways for resuming their flight operations in Pakistan. This shows improvement in security situation of Pakistan. In addition to this, our government has intention to promote tourism by easing visa policy for other countries. For this purpose, we have started Pakistan Online Visa System, under which the online visa facility has been provided to the citizens of 175 countries. Similarly, many other foreign airlines are also planning to resume their flight operations in Pakistan after seeing a conducive business environment and improved security situation in the country.”

Flights will run three-per-week on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from London Heathrow, operated using a three-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner with World Traveller (long-haul economy), World Traveller Plus (long-haul premium economy) and Club World (long-haul business class).

Customers travelling can expect bespoke services to enhance the on-board experience, including a halal meal option in every cabin, while the airline will also ensure sauces in every meal do not include alcohol or pork. As with any British Airways flight, customers can also pre-order a range of special meal options, including vegetarian and vegan food.

The airline has a number of Pakistani and British Pakistani colleagues who speak Urdu, and there has already been considerable interest from these colleagues to work on the flights.