Dhaka, Oct. 26 -- Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed direct flights to Britain on Saturday (Oct 25), ending a five-year suspension imposed over aviation safety concerns.

UK lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July after concluding that aviation safety standards were "satisfactory and in line with international norms."

The UK, EU and U.S. had banned PIA flights in June 2020, a month after an Airbus A320 crash in Karachi killed nearly 100 people.

The accident was blamed on human error.

At a ceremony at Islamabad International Airport, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hailed the resumption of Islamabad-Manchester flights as a "major milestone" in restoring PIA's credibility.

He said Pakistan had overhauled pilot trainin...