First flight of British Airline Virgin Atlantic lands at the New Islamabad International Airport on Friday.
Sayed Zulfi Bukhari – Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Overseas Pakistanis, took to social media to announce the historic maiden flight of British Airline Virgin Atlantic to Pakistan.
Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight lands in Islamabad. Maiden flight a great new step for our UK and EU based diaspora. Pakistan is more connected and open for travel & tourism today than it has been in decades, he tweeted.
Expressing his views in a video statement British High Commissioner to Pakistan – Christian Turner praised the development terming it ‘historic’ and that it will further strengthen Pak-UK ties.
“It’s a historic day today as Virgin Atlantic is now flying to Pakistan, he said.
He underscored the fact that 18 months ago there were no British carriers flying to Pakistan and today there are more than 20 direct flights between UK and Pakistan per week.
The airline is using its Airbus A-332 airplanes for its direct flights from UK to Lahore and Islamabad.
Earlier, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had released a flight schedule according to which the airline will operate direct flights from Lahore, Pakistan to London Heathrow four days a week.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands.
Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company after disagreements with Sir Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from Gatwick Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport took place on 22 June 1984.
The airline along with Virgin Holidays is controlled by a holding company, Virgin Atlantic Limited, which is 51% owned by the Virgin Group and 49% by Delta Air Lines. It is administratively separate from other Virgin-branded airlines.
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited both hold Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A Operating Licenses (AOC numbers 534 and 2435 respectively), both of which permit these airlines, operating as Virgin Atlantic Airways, to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
Virgin Atlantic uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft and operates to destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia from its main base at Heathrow, and its secondary base at Manchester.
The airline also operates seasonal flights from Glasgow and Belfast. Virgin Atlantic aircraft consist of three cabins: Economy, Premium (formerly Premium economy) and Upper Class (business).
