Virgin Atlantic
U.K.-based airline Virgin Atlantic on Monday announced that it will be suspending services between London’s Heathrow Airport and Lahore and Islamabad, less than three years after they had commenced from Dec. 13, 2020.
“As we continue to ramp up our flying program in 2023, we’ve taken the opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few changes. Following this review, it is with regret that we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our services between London Heathrow and Pakistan,” read a press release posted on the airline’s official website.
According to the airline, it would suspend its operations between Heathrow and Lahore with effect from May 1, while the last date for flights between London and Islamabad would be July 9.
“Since commencing operations in December 2020, we have been proud to offer choice for customers traveling between London and Manchester in the U.K., and Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan,” it said, adding that it had also provided “important cargo capacity” and delivered vital medicine supplies during this time. Stressing that the decision to suspend flight operations was not taken lightly, the airline apologized to consumers for any inconvenience caused. “We would like to wholeheartedly thank you for your support and great partnership over the past two years, we couldn’t have done it without you,” it added.
The final Pakistan flight dates, according to the schedule issued by Virgin Atlantic, are:
- LHR-LHE VS364, departing April 30 at 21:55
- LHE-LHR VS365, departing May 1 at 12:25
- LHR-ISB VS378, departing July 8 at 21:55
- ISB-LHR VS379, departing July 9 at 12:40
Commencing its Pakistan operations in 2020, Virgin Atlantic had initially operated three routes—two from Islamabad to London and Manchester; and one from Lahore to London. However, the Manchester route was suspended in September 2022, with the airline citing “business decisions.”