Pakistan International Airlines’ New Lahore-Manchester Flight Takes Off With 325 Passengers, UK Service Grows to 5 Weekly Flights

Pakistan International Airlines (PK), the country’s flag carrier, launched a direct flight between Lahore and Manchester on July 2, 2026, becoming the first nonstop service on the route in more than six years. The inaugural flight, PK709, left Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, carrying 325 passengers, following a short ceremony that included a cake-cutting to mark the occasion, according to a statement from the airline reported by Arab News. PIA said the new link is meant to strengthen ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, home to more than 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage.

Weekly Boeing 777 Service Links Lahore and Manchester

The Lahore-Manchester route operates once a week in each direction using a Pakistan International Airlines (PK) Boeing 777-300ER, a widebody jet PIA already flies on its other UK and European routes. According to schedule data reported by flight-tracking site Flightera, the specific aircraft used for the launch carries the registration AP-BMS:

Data: planespotters.net

The published weekly timetable runs as follows:

• PK709 (Lahore to Manchester): departs Lahore Saturday at 12:25 p.m., arrives Manchester at 5:00 p.m., a flight of roughly eight hours and 35 minutes.
• PK710 (Manchester to Lahore): departs Manchester Friday at 7:30 p.m., arrives Lahore at 7:30 a.m., a flight of about eight hours.

The route was first announced in April 2026 as part of PIA’s plan to keep rebuilding international connections lost during its European flying ban.

A Brief History of Pakistan International Airlines’ 777-300 ER

The Boeing 777-300ER was delivered new to Air Austral in April 2009 as F-OSYD, configured with 18 Business, 40 Premium Economy and 384 Economy seats (C18W40Y384) and powered by two General Electric (GE) engines. Named “C. Leconte de Lisle,” the aircraft was ferried from Everett to Paris Charles de Gaulle on 23–24 April 2009 before entering service under a lease agreement.

In April 2013, the aircraft was temporarily leased to Garuda Indonesia, where it remained until July 2013, before returning to Air Austral. It was then leased back to Garuda Indonesia from September to November 2013 before once again rejoining Air Austral. During its final stint with the French carrier, the aircraft continued operating in its original C18W40Y384 configuration until it was withdrawn from service on 9 October 2016. It was subsequently stored at Tarbes–Lourdes Airport (LDE) between 15 May and 26 July 2017.

The aircraft joined Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in July 2017, receiving the registration AP-BMS. It retained its C18W40Y384 cabin layout and two GE engines and was delivered to the airline on lease following a ferry flight from Tarbes–Lourdes to Karachi on 26–27 July 2017. It has remained in PIA’s fleet ever since.

Inaugural Flight Departs Lahore with 325 Passengers

PIA Chief Operating Officer Khurram Mushtaq personally saw off passengers before the inaugural Lahore departure, according to the airline’s statement carried by Business Recorder. A day earlier, the first flight on the reverse routing, from Manchester to Lahore, had already departed and was seen off by PIA’s local management along with officials from the Manchester Airport Group.

Passengers on the inaugural flight welcomed the restoration of the link, Pakistan International Airlines reported:

“Passengers welcomed the restoration of direct air connectivity between Lahore and Manchester, describing it as a significant development for the Pakistani community living in the United Kingdom”

The airline described the new service as an “important expansion” of its international network.

Route Marks Milestone in PIA’s Five-Year Return to the UK

The launch caps a long road back to Britain for PIA. The United Kingdom, along with the European Union, barred Pakistani carriers from its airspace in 2020 after the crash of PIA Flight 8303 in Karachi, which killed nearly 100 people and led to public disclosures about widespread irregularities in pilot licensing. The EU lifted its ban in November 2024, letting PIA resume European flying with a Islamabad-Paris service in January 2025 and a Lahore-Paris route that June.

Britain’s removal of Pakistan from its Air Safety List followed in July 2025. British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said at the time that she looked forward to “using a Pakistani carrier when visiting family and friends” once services resumed.

PIA needed several more months to secure a Third Country Operator certificate and a Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit from the UK Civil Aviation Authority before its first Islamabad-Manchester flight took off in October 2025. Direct Lahore-London Heathrow flights followed in March 2026, ending a six-year gap on that route, per reporting from Pakistani-Air.

Manchester Network Grows to Five Weekly PIA Flights

With the Lahore service added, PIA now operates five weekly flights between Pakistan and Manchester: four from Islamabad and one from Lahore. The Islamabad-Manchester frequency itself increased from three to four weekly flights on July 3, 2026, days before the Lahore launch.

PIA’s Manchester expansion fits a wider pattern at the airport. Manchester Airport (MAN) added several long-haul routes over the past year, including IndiGo’s debut European service to Mumbai and a follow-on Delhi link, plus Norse Atlantic Airways’ new Bangkok flight. Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said the airport was “proud to connect the North with more destinations than any of our competitors,”.

New Private Ownership Fuels PIA’s Expansion Plans

The Lahore-Manchester launch comes soon after PIA’s ownership changed hands. Pakistan’s government sold a 75 percent stake in the airline to a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation for Rs135 billion, roughly $482 million, in a televised auction in December 2025. The government formally handed over management control at the end of June 2026, according to Dawn, with the buyer committing roughly Rs125 billion toward debt reduction, fleet modernization and route expansion.

Officials tied to the sale said PIA’s operational fleet had shrunk to just 18 aircraft from around 50 in earlier decades, with plans under the new ownership to roughly double capacity within three to four years. The Lahore-Manchester launch, arriving within days of the management handover, suggests the new owners are continuing rather than pausing the airline’s UK recovery.

How The Lahore Route Compares with Rival Options to the UK

Most Pakistani travelers to the UK still rely on one-stop connections through Gulf hubs operated by carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, since PIA’s direct European network remains limited to a handful of weekly frequencies. British Airways, which last served Lahore in 2023 before PIA reclaimed the route, no longer flies the sector directly, leaving PIA as the sole nonstop operator between Lahore and the UK’s north-west.

The new Lahore-Manchester link therefore fills a specific gap: nonstop access from Punjab to Manchester’s large Pakistani-origin population, without a change of aircraft in Islamabad, Karachi or a Gulf hub. Reduced connecting times and one less security check are the practical advantages PIA is banking on to draw passengers away from indirect itineraries, even as the airline works, under new private ownership, to rebuild the wider fleet and frequency levels lost during its five-year absence from British skies.