British airline Virgin Atlantic will commence its flight operation for the country from December 13 as the nation's aviation regulatory body has approved its flight operation to and from Pakistan, a media report said on Sunday.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) granted approval to Virgin Atlantic to start its flight operation in response to its request made on December 2, the Dawn reported.

Virgin Atlantic is scheduled to start its flight operations for Islamabad and Lahore and will use Airbus A-332 aircraft to continue a weekly eight-flight operation to the two cities.

According to the schedule approved by PCAA, the first passenger flight VS365 will take off from London on December 13 and land at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport on December 14 in the morning.

The airline will operate four weekly flights between London and Lahore and three flights between London and Islamabad, the report said.

Before starting its flight operation to Pakistan, Virgin Atlantic will operate a cargo flight VS364 from England to Pakistan on December 7.

The airline had reportedly sought permission to operate flights from Manchester and London.

The airline had earlier announced three routes to Pakistan from the UK ? London-Lahore, London-Islamabad and Manchester-Islamabad.

The federal cabinet had given approval to the airline to operate direct flights between Pakistan and London, the report said.

The decision of Virgin Atlantic to operate its flight comes following the decision of European Commission to retain the ban on Pakistan International Airlines operations in its member countries, saying it is dissatisfied over the steps taken by the country's civil aviation authority to address licensing and safety concerns.&nbsp;

British airline Virgin Atlantic will commence its flight operation for the country from December 13 as the nation's aviation regulatory body has approved its flight operation to and from Pakistan, a media report said on Sunday.

British airline Virgin Atlantic will commence its flight operation for the country from December 13 as the nation's aviation regulatory body has approved its flight operation to and from Pakistan, a media report said on Sunday. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) granted approval to Virgin Atlantic to start its flight operation in response to its request made on December 2, the Dawn reported. Virgin Atlantic is scheduled to start its flight operations for Islamabad and Lahore and will use Airbus A-332 aircraft to continue a weekly eight-flight operation to the two cities. According to the schedule approved by PCAA, the first passenger flight VS365 will take off from London on December 13 and land at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport on December 14 in the morning. The airline will operate four weekly flights between London and Lahore and three flights between London and Islamabad, the report said. Before starting its flight operation to Pakistan, Virgin Atlantic will operate a cargo flight VS364 from England to Pakistan on December 7. The airline had reportedly sought permission to operate flights from Manchester and London. The airline had earlier announced three routes to Pakistan from the UK ? London-Lahore, London-Islamabad and Manchester-Islamabad. The federal cabinet had given approval to the airline to operate direct flights between Pakistan and London, the report said. The decision of Virgin Atlantic to operate its flight comes following the decision of European Commission to retain the ban on Pakistan International Airlines operations in its member countries, saying it is dissatisfied over the steps taken by the country's civil aviation authority to address licensing and safety concerns.

British airlines Virgin Atlantic to commence flight operations to Pak from Dec 13

British Airways will bid farewell to its Boeing 747s with a rare synchronised dual take off for the "Queen of the Skies". Watch report.

British Airways 'Queen of Skies' jumbos bid farewell

Monarch <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/indigo-airline-staff-steals-10-lakh-from-passengers-bag-at-guwahati-airport-18599" target="_blank">Airlines collapsed on Monday, the biggest ever failure</a> of a British airline, stranding tens of thousands of travelers overseas and prompting the country&#39;s biggest-ever peacetime repatriation effort.

Monarch canceled about 300,000 future bookings and apologised to customers and staff as it became the UK&#39;s largest carrier to go into administration.

&quot;I am so sorry that thousands now face a canceled holiday or trip, possible delays getting home and huge inconvenience as a result of our failure,&quot; Monarch Chief Executive Andrew Swaffield told employees in a message.

&quot;I am truly sorry that it has ended like this.&quot;

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said the company fell victim to a price war overflights to the Mediterranean and told customers not to come to airports.

&quot;We are doing our best to make sure that those people who are stranded and can&#39;t get back otherwise will be able to do so,&quot; he told BBC television, adding that he expected many of Monarch&#39;s more than 2,000 staff to get jobs elsewhere.

The British government has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring back to the UK about 110,000 Monarch customers currently overseas, the CAA said.&nbsp;

Tough competition has been pressuring European airlines and driving consolidation, with Air Berlin and Alitalia filing for insolvency this year and seeking new investors for parts of their businesses.

The collapse will be a headache for some of the world&#39;s largest leasing companies, which financed its current fleet of 36 mainly Airbus jets, and for Boeing Co, which has sold the airline 32 of its 737 MAX aircraft. None of the planes has yet been delivered.

Although relatively small compared to Europe&#39;s leading scheduled carriers, Monarch had been a regular hotspot in the global battle for market share between plane makers as it shifted its loyalties between Airbus and Boeing.

Boeing secured Monarch&#39;s agreement to revert back to its jets in 2014 following a fierce contest against Airbus and Bombardier.

&quot;We are working with the joint administrators and the CAA to do everything we possibly can to help minimise disruption where we can, but are under no illusion as to the problems this will cause,&quot; Monarch&#39;s Swaffield said.

&quot;And many suppliers will suffer hugely as a result of our insolvency &ndash; for which I am equally sorry.&quot;

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar24, some 25 aircraft had been lined up to start repatriating passengers by 0600 GMT on Monday, including 10 from Qatar Airways already based in Europe on behalf of British Airways. An easyJet airplane and several charter aircraft were also part of the operation.

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air meanwhile said it was offering to fly stranded Monarch passengers home from Tel Aviv for 119 pounds ($159) each.

Monarch said its companies that entered into administration include Monarch Airlines, Monarch Holidays Ltd, First Aviation Ltd, Avro Ltd and Somewhere2stay Ltd.

Monarch had previously said it was talking to potential partners after a report that parts of its short-haul network would be sold.

Monarch canceled about 300,000 future bookings and apologised to customers

Monarch Airlines collapsed on Monday, the biggest ever failure of a British airline, stranding tens of thousands of travelers overseas and prompting the country's biggest-ever peacetime repatriation effort. Monarch canceled about 300,000 future bookings and apologised to customers and staff as it became the UK's largest carrier to go into administration. "I am so sorry that thousands now face a canceled holiday or trip, possible delays getting home and huge inconvenience as a result of our failure," Monarch Chief Executive Andrew Swaffield told employees in a message. "I am truly sorry that it has ended like this." Transport secretary Chris Grayling said the company fell victim to a price war overflights to the Mediterranean and told customers not to come to airports. "We are doing our best to make sure that those people who are stranded and can't get back otherwise will be able to do so," he told BBC television, adding that he expected many of Monarch's more than 2,000 staff to get jobs elsewhere. The British government has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring back to the UK about 110,000 Monarch customers currently overseas, the CAA said. Tough competition has been pressuring European airlines and driving consolidation, with Air Berlin and Alitalia filing for insolvency this year and seeking new investors for parts of their businesses. The collapse will be a headache for some of the world's largest leasing companies, which financed its current fleet of 36 mainly Airbus jets, and for Boeing Co, which has sold the airline 32 of its 737 MAX aircraft. None of the planes has yet been delivered. Although relatively small compared to Europe's leading scheduled carriers, Monarch had been a regular hotspot in the global battle for market share between plane makers as it shifted its loyalties between Airbus and Boeing. Boeing secured Monarch's agreement to revert back to its jets in 2014 following a fierce contest against Airbus and Bombardier. "We are working with the joint administrators and the CAA to do everything we possibly can to help minimise disruption where we can, but are under no illusion as to the problems this will cause," Monarch's Swaffield said. "And many suppliers will suffer hugely as a result of our insolvency – for which I am equally sorry." According to flight-tracking service Flightradar24, some 25 aircraft had been lined up to start repatriating passengers by 0600 GMT on Monday, including 10 from Qatar Airways already based in Europe on behalf of British Airways. An easyJet airplane and several charter aircraft were also part of the operation. Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air meanwhile said it was offering to fly stranded Monarch passengers home from Tel Aviv for 119 pounds ($159) each. Monarch said its companies that entered into administration include Monarch Airlines, Monarch Holidays Ltd, First Aviation Ltd, Avro Ltd and Somewhere2stay Ltd. Monarch had previously said it was talking to potential partners after a report that parts of its short-haul network would be sold.

Britain's Monarch Airlines goes bust, leaving thousands stranded