Pakistan International Airlines, (PIA) has announced additional two-way weekly flights from Pakistan to Britain till April 7th before the new COVID-19 restriction of the UK comes into effect.
PIA will run two weekly flights to assist as many passengers in Pakistan. According to the details, PIA will run four additional flights from Islamabad to Manchester. The ban placed by the UK will come into effect from April 9th Friday, at 4 PM. As per an estimate, 1400 passengers will be traveling to the UK from Pakistan through these additional flights.
The spokesperson of PIA, Abdul Hafeez Khan, informed that the scheduled flights from Pakistan to the UK will not run on April 9th and April 11th.
On Friday, UK had announced to place Pakistan on the red list of travel restrictions. International visitors who have departed from or transited through Pakistan, Kenya, Bangladesh, and the Philippines in the previous 10 days will be barred from entering England. The move will take effect from 4 am on Friday, 9 April.
Read more: Pakistan added to England’s travel ‘red list’
England’s red list
The addition of these 4 countries means there are now a total of 39 countries on England’s ‘red list’.
Only British and Irish citizens or those who hold permanent residency in the UK will be allowed to enter England after a ten-day mandatory quarantine provided by the government.
The statement further said that the passengers would be directed to arrive at a designated port. No direct flight bans from these countries will be put in place, but passengers are advised to check their travel plans before departing for England.
United Kingdom’s government website states that passengers will be required to take a coronavirus test on or before Day 2 and on or after Day 8, and they will not be allowed to shorten their quarantine period on receipt of a negative test result.
They will also not be able to end their managed quarantine early through the Test to Release scheme.
Read more: UK Red Lists Pakistan: Choice is based on science or foreign policy, asks Asad Umar
In the statement, the government also asked the British nationals currently in the countries on the red list to make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to England. Commercial routes that will allow British and Irish nationals and residents to return to England will continue to operate.