Manchester Airport has welcomed Virgin Atlantic's announcement of new flights to Pakistan.

Tickets to new services to Islamabad will go on sale in September subject to applicable regulatory approvals. Pakistan is one of the most popular routes from Manchester serving passengers across the North West and Yorkshire.

Julian Carr, Aviation Director at Manchester Airport, said: “It’s great to see Virgin Atlantic commence services to Pakistan from Manchester Airport. It marks the airline’s commitment to the region, with it being its first eastbound service from Manchester and the North.

“We are sure the route will be incredibly popular with the thousands of passengers across our vast catchment that visit Pakistan either for business, or to visit friends and relatives.”

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic said, “Pakistan is an extremely exciting opportunity for us – it boasts one of the largest foreign-born populations in both the UK and the US and, as people start to travel to visit loved ones, we’re anticipating the demand  to visit friends and relatives will increase post COVID-19. Islamabad is a popular year-round destination and we look forward to welcoming travellers onboard as demand for leisure and business travel gradually increases to the region.”

Alison Blackburne, Acting Head of the British High Commission in Pakistan, said: “Virgin Atlantic starting flights to Pakistan is great news for the hundreds of thousands of people who regularly travel between our two nations, as well as a boost to UK-Pakistan trade links. We look forward to welcoming Virgin Atlantic to this fantastic country.”

Virgin Atlantic say all customers will be provided with a personal Health Pack for their health and safety, which will contain three medical grade face masks to be worn onboard, surface wipes and hand gel.   The airline is offering a temporary simplified hot food service in all cabins and from October, will be reintroducing special meals catering for individual dietary requirements including Halal, vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.