Direct Flights between Iran's Mashhad, Pakistan's Lahore Resumed after 2 Years
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has started to operate direct flights between the Iranian city of Mashhad and Pakistan's Lahore again after a two-year pause.
The decision to operate flights to Mashhad was taken as per advice of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to facilitate the pilgrimages to the holy sites in Iran, Pakistan’s Daily Times reported.
The PIA will have two regular flights on Saturday and Tuesday mornings, with its maiden flight having taken off from the Lahore International Airport on Tuesday morning.
Among the guests present in a ceremony to announce the decision, there were Pakistan’s provincial affairs minister, the Iranian consul general in Lahore, the media representatives, and the PIA staffs and managers.
In a similar developmnet, the Austrian Airlines announced on February 5 that it would resume direct flights between Tehran and Vienna after agreements made during talks between the Austrian company and the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization.
Direct flights between Iran and Austria which were suspended about a year ago will be resumed on March 12, Deputy Head of Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) for Aviation and International Affairs Mohammad Khodakarami said earlier.
The reason for the year-long suspension of Iran-Austria direct flight was the Austrian company's problem in the financial income, he noted.
Meanwhile, Bahrain's national airline also announced on February 10 that it will restart flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran, next month.
The airline said in a statement that it will resume services with four weekly flights starting on March 3.