PIA can resume flights to Europe as EASA lifts ban

KARACHI: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has officially lifted the ban on Pakistan International Airlines, enabling the national carrier to resume flights to Europe.

According to a spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the EASA has formally informed the Ministry of Aviation and the PIA management of their decision through an official communique.

The EASA has also congratulated the PIA team and management for complying to their stringent most safety standards, the spokesperson said while expressing resolve that the airline will continue to strictly adhere to the EASA’s regulations and guidelines.

The agency banned PIA flights to Europe in June 2020, a month after a PIA plane crashed in Karachi’s Model Colony. In addition to the crash, then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s claims about the fake licenses of 262 pilots contributed to the EASA’s decision to ban PIA routes in Europe and Britain.

In May 2020, PIA flight PK 8303 crashed in Karachi’s Model Colony, killing 97 people onboard. The initial report concluded that the accident was caused by human error, both by the pilot and air traffic control.

This led to an evaluation of the pilots, after which 150 PIA pilots were grounded for allegedly holding fake licenses or cheating in exams.

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EASA spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Reuters, “EASA has now re-established sufficient confidence in the PCAA oversight capabilities.”

It said that the decision to authorise PIA to perform commercial air transport operations to, from and within the EU was based on the “significant efforts” made by the PCAA.

“With the lifting of this ban, the nation can once again travel directly to European destinations using their national flag carrier. This development is a testament to PIA’s compliance with international aviation safety standards,” the PIA’s statement released to media read.

Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, while speaking to Geo News, said the lifting of the ban would revitalise the debt-ridden national flag carrier and the effort to privatise it.

The ban was costing PIA nearly 40 billion Pakistani rupees ($144 million) in revenue annually, according to government records presented in parliament.

PIA and the government had been pressing EASA to lift the ban even provisionally. The government’s attempt to privatise the airline fell flat when it received only a single offer, that too well below its asking price.

“Wonderful news of lifting of the ban on PIA flights in the entire European Union,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post in social media platform X.