Virgin Atlantic is ramping up operations from Manchester Airport with a brand-new service between Manchester and Islamabad. 

With a significant proportion of Pakistani diaspora living in the region, the new services will provide vital connectivity for friends and relatives visiting family and loved ones, as well as serving growing demand for business and leisure travel. 

In addition, Virgin Atlantic will also launch services between London Heathrow and Islamabad tomorrow and London Heathrow to Lahore on December 13th.

The new route will operate on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787.

As well as flying customers, Virgin Atlantic will offer a fast, efficient cargo service growing trade volumes between exporters and importers in both the UK and Pakistan.

The UK is the largest export market for Pakistan in Europe, transporting high volumes of goods such as textiles, apparel and machinery. 

Virgin Atlantic’s new flights to Islamabad reaffirm the airline’s unwavering commitment to serving the region. 

Flights to Barbados resumed last Saturday, with other customer favourites such as Orlando, New York and Atlanta restarting from Manchester over the coming months. 

In addition to opening new routes from its northern hub, Virgin Atlantic remains committed to providing an unrivalled travel experience for its customers and is continuing with its plans to bring its iconic Clubhouse experience to Manchester Airport. 

Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented: “We have missed flying customers from Manchester, our home in the north, so I’m pleased we can continue to mark our return with the launch of our new service to Pakistan.

“This is our first route launch since the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is an extremely important one for us as we look to reunite families and loved ones.”

He added: “Despite the challenges brought by Covid-19, our commitment to Manchester has never wavered.

“It’s an exciting time as demand gradually returns and we build up flying from the region.

“Our desire to delight and connect customers flying from the north-west continues and we are looking forward to welcoming them back and flying them safely to their favourite destinations.”