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European Aviation Safety Agency lifts ban on PIA for flights to Europe after a gap of nearly four years

ISLAMABAD, Nov 29 (SABAH): Minister for Defence, Defence Production and Aviation Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Friday announced that the European Commission and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifted the ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for flights to Europe after a gap of nearly four years.

In 2020, after a PIA plane crash in Karachi killed nearly 100, followed by a fake pilot licence scandal, the EASA banned the airline from its most lucrative routes in Europe and Britain.

The ban costed the airline annual revenue of nearly Rs40 billion. In March, Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that PIA flights to the UK would resume soon after clearance from EASA by mid-May. The minister’s remarks were based on conversations with “relevant quarters”.

In a post on X on Friday, Khawaja Asif said: “It is a momentous day to announce that European Commission and EASA has lifted the suspension on PIA flights to Europe.” He added that Third Country Operator authorisation was also issued to Airblue.

Khawaja Asif said the development was made possible due to the aviation ministry’s “complete focus” on strengthening the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and ensuring safety oversight in line with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

“Our government has taken significant measures to strengthen PCAA, including enactment of PCAA Act, smooth segregation of regulator and service providers, appointment of professional leadership and training to build the capacity.

“I am grateful to European Commission and EASA for conducting a transparent process and our commitment to ensure aviation safety in Pakistan.”

It is worth mentioning here that the ban was imposed on Pakistani flights to Europe on the unverified statement of former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan during the tenure of prime minister Imran Khan’s government in 2020. Ghulam Sarwar Khan had stated that the degrees of Pakistani pilots are fake. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistani and international agencies have declared the claim of Ghulam Sarwar Khan as wrong after investigations.