Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced plans to launch two weekly flights to Australia, cutting travel time to and from the country by almost a third.
“It will be the first time ever if it (flights to Australia by a Pakistani airline) happens,” said PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez. “We conducted a feasibility study, which concluded that it would be beneficial to the airline.”
PIA intends to operate two weekly flights from Karachi and Lahore to Sydney at first. Later, PIA may also include Islamabad.
Direct flights would shorten a traveler’s duration to 12:30 hours and 13 hours, respectively, if they were flying to Australia or Pakistan.
Because there are no direct flights between Pakistan and Australia, passengers must travel for 34 to 35 hours with stopovers, which adds to their trip time.
“Every airline must touch their hub before flying on to their destination,” stated Nadeem Sharif, Chairman of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP). “There may be eight-hour layovers or even overnight stays, which adds to the trip time.”
He added that, for example, if a person travelling to Australia via Qatar Airways from Pakistan, he or she must first fly to Doha, Qatar Airways’ hub, and then to Australia.
