Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that it will
suspend flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and both Lahore
(LHE) and
Islamabad (ISB) in Pakistan.
The airline’s last flight between London Heathrow
and Lahore is now scheduled to take off on 30 April with the last
flight in the opposite direction set for 1 May.
Virgin’s final flight between Heathrow and
Islamabad is slated to depart on 8 July, with the return leg
scheduled for 9 July 2023.
“As we
continue to ramp up our flying programme in 2023, we’ve taken the
opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few
changes,” said a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson. “Following this review, it is with regret that
we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our services between
London Heathrow and Pakistan. Since commencing operations in
December 2020, we have been proud to offer choice for customers
travelling between London and Manchester [also now suspended] in the UK, and Islamabad
and Lahore in Pakistan. During that time, we have also provided
important cargo capacity, as well as delivering vital medical
supplies.”
The airline has indicated that it will communicate
to any customers who will be affected by the cancellations as to
provide them options, which include rebooking, where applicable, or a
full refund.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and
we’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused,” added the
carrier’s spokesperson.
