Chief Executive of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Air Marshal Arshad Malik announced that the PIA will start direct flights from Karachi to Mashad in Iran from 1 Jan 2022.
Iranian local media reports said that Arshad Malik was speaking in a meeting with Ambassador of Iran in Pakistan Mohammad Ali Hosseini, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations in the field of aviation and agreed to increase bilateral cooperation.
Ambassador Hosseini tweeted that the two sides agreed to promote air cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.
Currently, Iran Air operates a flight a week from Tehran to Karachi and vice versa. There are reports that Mahan Iran Airlines will resume flights from Tehran and Mashad to Lahore.
Lahore is known as the ‘cultural heart’ of Pakistan, so the resumption of these flights can prove effective for the development of bilateral relations between Iran and Pakistan, the reports said.
The launch of direct Karachi-Mashad flights is likely to increase tourism in the two countries, including pilgrimages to holy places in Iran.