BEIJING: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight PK-870 with 209 passengers including 8 children onboard arrived in Chengdu, capital city of China’s Sichuan province here on Wednesday.
The first flight of the national flag carrier left Islamabad this morning and arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International airport around 4.00 pm local time.
PIA has started direct weekly passenger flights between Islamabad and Chengdu from today following the formal approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to operate its weekly flights on Islamabad-Chengdu route, according to official sources.
Chengdu is the third destination other than Beijing for the national flag carrier. In March, PIA was allowed to operate flights for Chinese cities of Xian and Guangzhou from Pakistan. Previously, the state-run airline was allowed to conduct flight operations for Beijing only.
According to the schedule, PK-870, will take off from Islamabad Int’l Airport at 8 am every Wednesday, which will arrive at Chengdu Shuangliu Int’l Airport at 4 pm local time after a flight duration of approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes.
The same day, PK-871 will depart from Chengdu at 6 pm local time and will reach Islamabad at 8:20 pm local time after a flight of 5 hours and 20 minutes.
All the passengers underwent the strict Covid-19 prevention and control measures before boarding the plane. They will be quarantined in Chengdu as per arrangements made by the Chinese local administration before leaving for their respective destinations in China.
PIA has already resumed its weekly passenger flights on between Islamabad and Xian. The new direct flights are expected to enhance trade and education cooperation between Pakistan and Sichuan, which already have multiple linkages.
A number of Pakistani passengers who will join their families in China have expressed their pleasure over the launch of flights on Islamabad-Chengdu route.
