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Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will add two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to its flights between the UK and Pakistan from the start of November 2026, under a deal with Norwegian airline Norse Atlantic Airways.
The extra aircraft will give PIA more capacity on its UK routes, which are popular with the British Pakistani community and travellers visiting family.
The agreement is what the airline industry calls an ACMI deal, short for aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. Norse Atlantic will supply the Dreamliners and fly them with its own crews, while PIA sells the seats and runs the flights under its own network.
This lets PIA add long-haul capacity quickly, without buying or leasing aircraft and training crews itself.
The two aircraft come from Norse’s previous deal with Indian airline IndiGo, which ends this month, with the Dreamliners returning to Norse by the end of October.
PIA and Norse have said the Dreamliners will link “multiple destinations” between the UK and Pakistan, but they haven’t yet announced specific routes or schedules.
PIA currently flies direct from:
London Heathrow to Islamabad and Lahore, from Terminal 4
Manchester to Islamabad
According to PIA’s chief executive, these will be the first Boeing Dreamliners flown for a Pakistani airline.
PIA chief executive Amir Hayat said the UK is an important market for the airline. He added that the deal will provide much-needed capacity and more choice for passengers, as demand for direct travel between the two countries remains strong.
Norse chief executive Eivind Roald said the agreement would give the large Pakistani community in the UK more options for travel between the two countries. He described it as “the start of a strategic partnership” between the airlines.
The deal is the latest step in PIA’s return to the UK market. The airline was barred from flying to the UK, the EU and the US in June 2020 over safety concerns.
July 2025: the UK removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List.
October 2025: PIA restarted UK flights with a Manchester–Islamabad route.
29 March 2026: direct flights to London Heathrow resumed after six years.
PIA is now majority privately owned, after a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation bought a 75% stake in December 2025. The new owners plan to expand the airline’s fleet and international network.
More aircraft should mean more seats and potentially more frequencies on routes that often sell out, especially around Eid, school holidays and the winter peak. The Dreamliner is also a more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft than many older long-haul jets.
Until PIA publishes its schedules, keep these in mind:
Check the aircraft and operator when you book. Flights will be sold as PIA but operated by Norse Atlantic with Norse crew, so the onboard product may differ from PIA’s own aircraft.
Your rights stay the same. Under UK rules, flights departing UK airports are covered by UK passenger rights, whichever airline operates them.
Book early for peak dates. Demand on UK–Pakistan routes is high, and fares rise quickly around holidays.
Planning a trip to Pakistan? Compare flights from London, Manchester and Birmingham to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi with TravelApp.
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