ISLAMABAD - British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner yesterday said 1.6 million strong Pakistani diaspora in the UK was at the heart of Pak-UK ties.
In a message after UK’s Virgin Atlantic touched down in Islamabad from Manchester for the first time, Dr Christian Turner said: "Virgin Atlantic's arrival in Pakistan for the first time is a historic moment. Our 1.6 million strong Pakistani diaspora in the UK is at the heart of our ties. 18 months ago we had no British airlines flying in Pakistan; today we have over 20 direct flights a week to both Islamabad and Lahore.”
He added: “This is a sign of confidence in Pakistan and will improve people to people links and boost trade. Followed by the change in travel advice and return of England cricket team to Pakistan, it further shows #UKPakDosti (Pak-UK friendship)."
Earlier, the Virgin Atlantic touched down in Islamabad from Manchester. The airline follows this up with new routes departing from Islamabad to London Heathrow on December 13 and departing from Lahore to London Heathrow on December 14, said a British High Commission statement.
UK is home to the largest Pakistani diaspora community in the world, with around 1.6 million people. The new Virgin Atlantic services will provide vital connectivity for friends and relatives visiting family and loved ones, in addition to serving growing demand for business and leisure travel.
Virgin Atlantic will operate the state of the art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on all routes from Pakistan, offering the airline’s Upper Class, Premium and Economy cabins. Passengers can take advantage of over 1,000 hours of in-flight entertainment, which includes a selection of Urdu films and TV programmes.
Virgin Atlantic will offer Halal food options for customers along with its award-winning service.
Virgin Atlantic will offer seamless connectivity via London Heathrow to North America, offering speedy connections to destinations such as New York JFK, Boston and Los Angeles. Virgin Atlantic will also offer onward connectivity alongside its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta Airlines to more than 200 destinations within North America, the statement added.
As well as transporting customers, Virgin Atlantic will offer a fast, efficient cargo service. This will enable 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.