Islamabad

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved two new international passenger routes.

Routes to Mumbai and Delhi will not go ahead as planned although the carrier has begun flights from Manchester to Pakistan.

China’s aviation authority has given the go-ahead for carriers to start four new international passenger services, including flights to Madrid and Toronto.

Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said the airline remains an 'interested party' in Flybe amid a potential rebirth of the UK-based regional carrier.

As British Airways begins a second route to Pakistan, Routes looks at the state of the country’s somewhat underexploited aviation market.

Just weeks after Virgin Atlantic unveiled plans to serve Lahore, Pakistan, British Airways has signaled its intention to enter the market.

The Turkish LCC is pushing ahead with plans to open its first route to Pakistan.

Routes analyzes some of the services returning as well as new routes being launched. This week we look at Virgin Atlantic’s move into the UK-Pakistan market; Jetstar’s resumption of Sunshine Coast-Adelaide flights; and the launch of a new Widerøe route from Bergen.

The UK carrier views the service as an air bridge for passengers traveling from the US to Pakistan via London.

Pakistan International Airlines has been cleared to resume two routes to the UK using aircraft chartered from Portuguese wet-lease operator Hi Fly.

Gulf carrier aims to “gradually” resume services with the goal of operating 45% of its pre-COVID capacity by August.

Qatar Airways has retained a robust network throughout the coronavirus crisis and more routes are scheduled to return over the coming weeks.

This week: British Airways resumes flights to Pakistan's capital, Air Italy adds more North America destinations, and China Southern connects the hosts of two Routes events.

Airport Strategy & Marketing provides expert insight into three of this week's stand-out new routes

The privately-owned Serene Air commenced flights on January 29, 2017 between Karachi and Islamabad after securing its air operator certificate just a week earlier. The airline is also offering flights between Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and Faisalabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, with the latter also being served from Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad too.

Pakistan’s biggest private airline will begin with a new service between Manchester Airport and Islamabad, launching in March.

A new UK long-haul carrier plans to launch operations late next year and bring a welcome upgrade for Economy passengers with a new business concept. The carrier, Firnas Airways, intends to offer a one-class operation on routes from the UK to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia serving the strong ethnic travel flows with an enhanced premium economy offering.

The airline will launch flights on eight routes across six countries from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport from May 16, 2014 despite its own Sharjah International Airport hub being just 80km away.