Ban on PIA flights to Europe lifted

ISLAMABAD: The European Commission and the European Air Safety Agency have lifted the ban on PIA flights to Europe, said Minister for Defense and Aviation Khawaja Muhammad on Friday.

The minister said that the ban was lifted after all safety concerns were removed and safety measures were brought at par with international standards. He said it was a historic day for Pakistan and the achievement was because of the untiring efforts made by the aviation division of Pakistan.

Later, a spokesman for the PIA said that they had received the permission letter from the EASA, adding the national flag carrier will soon start its operations to Europe with the first flight to Paris, France.  

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

The ban cost the airline an annual revenue of nearly Rs40 billion. Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik informed the National Assembly in June that PIA flights to Europe were expected to be restored soon as the European Commission Air Safety Commission had delisted Pakistan from its concern list on May 14, describing it as a “positive development”.

The minister in a post on the social media platform of X stated, “It is momentous day to announce that European Commission and EASA has lifted the suspension on PIA flights to Europe.”

The minister said that a third-country operator’s authorization was also issued to private Pakistani airliners, Airblue.