Islamabad: Pakistan hopes to resume flights to Europe, the US and UK in February or March after the UN aviation agency withdrew safety objections.
“We are expecting PIA’s Europe operations will resume in February or March. The airline has made plans for the European operations,” the country’s aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan told reporters in Islamabad. He also announced that Pakistan would soon commence direct flights to Central Asian destinations, including Bishkek, Baku and Tashkent.
The statement comes a day after Pakistan said the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) confirmed that Pakistan’s civil aviation authority has resolved significant safety concerns.
The ICAO audit team was in Pakistan from November 29 to December 10, 2021, during which they inspected the CAA’s systems including flying clubs, visited airports, examined flight operations, safety measures and pilot examination system. Four Pakistan-registered airlines, including PIA, AirBlue, Air Sial and Serene Air, were internationally certified during the ICAO audit.
Sarwar termed the withdrawal of ICAO’s safety concerns against Pakistan “a major achievement” which has proved that Pakistan has addressed all safety concerns been addressed. He added that Pakistan has also taken steps to improve the training and licensing processes for pilots and the country had signed an agreement with the British civil aviation authority for testing and pilots licensing.
Following clearance from ICAO, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reached out to the UK CAA, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asking them to allow Pakistan-registered aircraft.
Europe operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other airlines remained suspended in 2020 over safety concerns due to restrictions by EASA following a scandal over dubious pilot licences.
Pakistani airlines were restricted in the wake of the May 22, 2020, plane crash in Karachi and the damning statement by aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar, who had claimed that around 40 per cent of Pakistani pilots had ‘dubious licences’.
