UK-Pakistan aviation reawakens: PIA returns, Norse Atlantic circles

The UK-Pakistan air travel market looks to be moving into a new era of dynamism after struggling with post-pandemic capacity well down on 2019 levels.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is to recommence an Islamabad-London Heathrow service on 29-Mar-2026. This will be its second UK service since the end of a five-year ban led to the relaunch of its Islamabad-Manchester flights in Oct-2025.

The only other UK-Pakistan operator currently is British Airways, which switched its Islamabad-London service from Heathrow to Gatwick in 2024.

However, Norse Atlantic UK has now been given approval to serve Islamabad from the UK.

This should act as an additional stimulant to the market's revival.