PIA suspends Lahore-Paris route, focus on CAA approval for UK flights

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) is to suspend flights between Lahore Allama Iqbal Airport (LHE) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), only two months after launching operations.  

According to local media, the decision came following disappointing passenger turnout after its weekly service began on June 18, 2025. The airline has announced that the final Lahore-Paris departure will be on September 17, 2025. 

Last year, PIA announced that it was restarting flights to France for the first time in four years, after a ban from European Union airspace was lifted.  

As well as the Lahore-Paris route, in January 2025 PIA also reintroduced flights between Islamabad International Airport (ISB) and CDG. This service will continue as scheduled.  

It is understood that the airline is now increasing its efforts to obtain approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct flights in UK airspace as an authorized third country operator. 

A spokesperson for PIA said that two aircraft, including one used on the Lahore-Paris route, are being renovated to meet the requirements of the CAA.  

Initially, the airline is seeking to resume flights to Manchester and hopes to gain authorization from the CAA to “undertake commercial flights to, from or within the UK and associated areas” by the end of September 2025. 

In July 2025, the UK lifted its five-year ban on PIA, introduced in the wake of a safety scandal that revealed several Pakistani pilots were flying with fraudulent licenses.  

According to the Department for Transport, an independent review confirmed that Pakistan now meets international safety requirements.  

Although the ban was lifted, the airline still requires operational approval from the CAA before resuming flights. 

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