German airline Lufthansa to 'resume flight operation' for Pakistan after 13 years

ISLAMABAD: German Ambassador to Pakistan Bernhard Stephen Schlagheck called on Board of Investment (BOI) Secretary Fareena Mazhar here on Wednesday in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

They discussed matters related to mutual interests and the promotion of trade and business activities between Pakistan and Germany in the meeting.

The meeting also discussed the upcoming visit of German investors to Pakistan including the delegation of Lufthansa airline which is keen to resume its operations for Pakistan.

Lufthansa is also a part of the delegation and is keen on starting operations in Pakistan, the German ambassador said while talking to the BOI secretary.

He further shared that the business delegation would be visiting Karachi and Islamabad and would be interacting with investors from the private sector and high-level government representatives

Speaking on the occasion, Board of Investment (BOI) Secretary Fareena Mazhar said that the federal government is introducing reforms for foreign investment in Pakistan.

The secretary while highlighting the various opportunities in Pakistan said that regulatory reform is a priority area for the incumbent government and investor facilitation is being paid special attention.

She said that BOI will provide all available facilities to upcoming German investors including the delegation of Lufthansa airline.

Read: AIR ARABIA PARTNERS WITH PAKISTANI GROUP TO LAUNCH NEW AIRLINE ‘FLY JINNAH’

She apprised the ambassador of the ten-year tax exemption introduced in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the landmark one window operation that is set to be launched end of November this year.

Lufthansa, a member of the Star Alliance Network, relaunched operations in Pakistan in 2007 after it rolled back its operations from the country in 1998.

Just one year later in October 2008, the German flag carrier announced that it would  stop all its flight operations in Karachi and Lahore for unspecified commercial reasons.

Recently, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Air Arabia has entered into a joint venture with one of Pakistan’s leading business conglomerates to launch a low-cost airline – Fly Jinnah.

This news was announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a post on his official Twitter handle on Spet 3.

“I welcome Air Arabia to Pakistan & wish them success in their partnership with local investors to establish a new Pakistani airline, FLY JINNAH,” he said. ” My govt is committed to attracting investment in Pakistan’s burgeoning travel & tourism sector which offers immense opportunities.”

Fly Jinnah will initially be based in Karachi operating on a range of domestic routes across Pakistan and then will expand its route network internationally, said the Air Arabia chairman.