Two airlines fly nonstop between Britain and Pakistan in 2026. PIA is back since the UK lifted its five-year ban on Pakistani airlines in July 2025: Manchester from October 2025, Heathrow from March 2026. British Airways flies to Islamabad from Gatwick (it left Heathrow for Gatwick in 2024). Every other journey has one stop, usually in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia or Istanbul. Virgin Atlantic’s nonstops ended in 2023, so older results that show them are out of date.
Direct flights, winter 2026–27
| Route | Restarted | Now | Winter 2026–27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester ⇒ Islamabad | 25 Oct 2025 | 4 a week (since 3 Jul 2026) | No change announced |
| Manchester ⇒ Lahore | July 2026 | 1 a week | No change announced |
| London Heathrow (T4) ⇒ Islamabad | 29 Mar 2026 | 3 a week | 5 a week from late October (PIA: daily London service from 27 Oct) |
| London Heathrow (T4) ⇒ Lahore | 30 Mar 2026 | 1 a week | 2 a week from late October |
| London Gatwick (South) ⇒ Islamabad · British Airways | Moved from Heathrow, 27 Oct 2024 | 3 a week (BA2161) | Not yet confirmed |
The first four rows are PIA (Heathrow Terminal 4, Manchester Terminal 2). Days, flight numbers and terminals are on our PIA UK schedule and British Airways Gatwick–Islamabad pages. Flying time is about 7¾ to 8½ hours. Birmingham is announced by PIA as a later phase but has no flights yet; there is no nonstop to Karachi, Sialkot or Peshawar from anywhere in the UK. With so few weekly seats, the nonstops sell out first around Eid, Christmas and the summer holidays.
One-stop options
- Via Doha (Qatar Airways), Dubai (Emirates), Abu Dhabi (Etihad) and Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) — the main connections from London, Manchester, Birmingham and other UK airports to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
- Via Bahrain (Gulf Air) on some routes, and via Jeddah or Riyadh (Saudia) — which is how you add an Umrah stopover of up to 96 hours on the way home.
- Gulf carriers also serve Sialkot, Peshawar and Multan, so a one-stop ticket can land you closer to home than a nonstop to Islamabad or Lahore.
To Karachi: PIA’s UK flights go to Islamabad and Lahore only, so every UK to Karachi ticket has a stop: through Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Istanbul, or PIA to Islamabad or Lahore and a domestic flight on the same ticket, so a delay on the first flight is covered.
Mirpur, Kotli and Dadyal: which airport?
Most British Pakistanis have family roots in the Mirpur district of Azad Kashmir — community and academic estimates run from 60% to 80% — but Mirpur has no airport. The practical gateway is Islamabad: roughly 140 km and about two hours by road to Mirpur, about 80 km and two hours to Dadyal, and about 145 km and a little over two hours to Kotli (route-planner estimates; traffic and the road you take change them). Sialkot is the other option, roughly 90–165 km from Mirpur depending on the road and the source you trust, but it has no UK flights, so it always means a connection in the Gulf.
Islamabad has the only UK nonstops of the two, so for most AJK families it is the airport: nonstop from Manchester, Heathrow or Gatwick, or one-stop from anywhere else.
From your UK airport
- London: PIA from Heathrow T4 to Islamabad (daily from late October 2026) or BA from Gatwick (3 a week).
- Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, the North: PIA from Manchester T2 to Islamabad, 4 a week.
- Birmingham: no nonstop; one-stop via Dubai, Doha or Istanbul, or drive to Manchester or Heathrow for PIA.
- Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh: one-stop, usually Emirates via Dubai (Edinburgh also has Qatar Airways and Turkish).
Connection schedules can change at short notice, so we check the current timings on the day we quote.
Mirpur, Kashmir is not Mirpur Khas
Booking sites list an airport called Mirpur Khas (MPD). That is a different city in Sindh province, nowhere near Azad Kashmir. If a fare search for “Mirpur” shows MPD, it is the wrong Mirpur.
The Mirpur airport plan
Pakistan’s government approved a Mirpur International Airport in 2025, and the Pakistan Airports Authority started technical feasibility and site selection; a commercial feasibility tender closed on 30 April 2025. In April 2026 the divisional commissioner said groundwork for the preliminary feasibility was under way. Sites discussed include Mangla, Jatlan and Bhalwhara, but nothing has been confirmed, so for now every journey goes through Islamabad or Sialkot.
Where British Pakistanis fly from
The 2021 Census counted about 1.57 million people of Pakistani ethnicity in England (1.66 million across the UK with the 2021–22 censuses). The largest communities are in Birmingham (about 196,000, 17% of the city), Bradford (about 140,000, a quarter of the district), Greater London (about 290,000, led by Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest), Manchester, Kirklees, Luton and Glasgow. That is why Manchester, Heathrow, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford are the busiest UK airports for Pakistan trips.
One-way tickets and tickets for parents
- One-way to Pakistan is normal for long stays, weddings or relocation; we quote one-way and return side by side because a return is sometimes cheaper.
- Parents visiting the UK can fly on a ticket that starts in Pakistan. We issue it in Islamabad, send it to you and to them, and quote PIA, BA and one-stop options together.
- Fares are never printed on this site; you get them in writing for your dates, with baggage and change rules. We are not a UK ATOL holder and say so before you pay.
Flying from Pakistan to the UK
For parents visiting the UK, or a return ticket that starts in Pakistan, the nonstops run the other way on these days (PIA’s summer 2026 filing and BA’s Gatwick schedule; your ticket shows the operating times):
- Islamabad to Manchester: PIA PK701, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 12:40.
- Lahore to Manchester: PIA PK709, Saturday.
- Islamabad to London Heathrow: PIA PK785, late morning, three a week and five a week from late October 2026.
- Lahore to London Heathrow: PIA PK757, once a week, twice a week from late October 2026.
- Islamabad to London Gatwick: British Airways BA2160, 07:55, landing 12:15 (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday on the schedule BA introduced in October 2024).
From Sialkot, Karachi, Peshawar or Multan there is no nonstop to the UK. You fly one-stop through Dubai or Doha, or take PIA from Islamabad or Lahore. We issue these tickets in Islamabad and send them to you and to your parents.
When fares peak
- Highest: UK summer school holidays (late July to August), the weeks around both Eids, and the December–January wedding season.
- Quieter: March to May and October to November, outside Eid.
- 2027 dates to plan around: Ramadan expected from about 8 February, Eid al-Fitr about 9–10 March and Eid al-Adha about 16 May 2027, all subject to moon sighting.
We do not publish fares because they change several times a day; send your dates and we quote in writing, with the baggage allowance and change rules.
Before you fly
British passport holders of Pakistani origin need either a NICOP (with the British passport) or a Pakistani visa; Pakistani passports need neither. Pilgrims flying on to Umrah from Karachi need the new NADRA-integrated vaccination card from 25 September 2026. Entry, customs and phone rules · baggage guide.
Facts on this page were checked on 6 October 2026 against: thenationalnews.com · travelweekly.co.uk · nation.com.pk · aeroroutes.com · aviationa2z.com · simpleflying.com · flightsfrom.com · birmingham.gov.uk