Is this history repeating itself? PIA only came on the route when Shaheen operating for a local Bradford travel agent stole a load of passengers from PIA at MAN until the lease on their A310s ran out and they could not renew.
If PIA are getting rid of their A310s then this would explain why they are giving up on a route with 82.5% average load. As for a 50 minute trip to MAN I'd like to see that done without breaking any speed limits unless you are travelling at 0300!
I just hope the local Pakistani community can persude another operator to take up the route. AitBlue/Jet2/EK via Dubai (As per PIAs reason for their GLA pull out) all are feasable, but EK by far the least likley give 3 a day from MAN and 1 from NCL. Jet2 unlikley given 752W are all busy and don't have the legs direct. AirBlue via IST seem the best hope but will the loss of a direct service mean the locals would rather brave the M62?
Hopefully now the airport has a pro active owner we may have some hope but they really do need to sort out the noise issues which I am sure didn't assist in PIAs decision.