A start-up carrier appears to be planning to launch direct flights between the UK and Pakistan.
HB International Airlines claims on its website that Norse Atlantic Boeing 787 aircraft will operate the flights from Birmingham and Manchester to Islamabad.
HB International Airlines’ (HBIA) website carries the Norse logo alongside its own. It describes the planned new routes as a ‘joint venture’ between the two, saying flights between Manchester, Birmingham and Islamabad will operate five times a week. It said flights will be available to book ‘soon’.
Norse Atlantic has asked the Pakistani authorities for permission to operate flights between Islamabad and Birmingham, Manchester and London Gatwick, according to Pakistani media, however, this has not been confirmed by Norse.
Norse Head of Sales UK Andrew Fish said: “We are always looking for new routes and cannot comment about any ongoing discussions.”
HBIA was incorporated in November 2017, according to Companies House, but it was still dormant in November 2024.
Its sole Director is Syed Omar Haider Bokhari, who is listed as ‘a person with significant control’.
A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “We are aware of HB International Airlines, but it has yet to apply for the necessary licences to undertake flights into and out of the UK.”
If the flights go ahead, they will be the only non-stop services between the UK and Pakistan by a Pakistani airline. National carrier Pakistan International Airlines has been banned from flying to the UK since July 2020 after it was discovered that dozens of Pakistani pilots were operating with fake licences.
Norse has recently agreed a deal to wet-lease part of its fleet of Boeing 787s to Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo, which is using one of the aircraft to fly between Manchester and Mumbai.
