ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume direct flights between Islamabad and Beijing, the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan reported, from Sunday.
The first flight, PK-854, will depart from Islamabad airport at 6:45 am and arrive at the Beijing Capital International Airport at 2:55 pm. This plane will return to Islamabad later in the evening.
The operations between the two capitals resumed after a gap of over two and a half years. The last PIA flight flew on this route in February 2020.
In March 2020, China, worried that international travelers might trigger a wave of coronavirus infections, suspended almost all inbound international flights.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has accorded approval to PIA to restart operations considering Pakistan as Beijing’s only all-weather strategic partner of China and shared interest and cooperation in various areas between the two countries.
The flight will also facilitate Chinese personnel working on various projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan.
A Pakistani passenger who intends to leave for Islamabad from Beijing said that PIA is expanding its flight network for China and is providing more options to Pakistani and Chinese travelers to directly reach different cities between the two nations.
Earlier this month, PIA announced to decrease in its fare for Pakistani students and other passengers traveling between the two nations.
Speaking to APP, Taskeen Ahmad, a student, said the discount would greatly benefit students, adding that a large number of students could now avail of the offer of discounted fare and return to their respective universities in China to resume off-line studies.
