- Prohibition imposed due to the false pilot license scandal.
- Pakistani authorities expect a positive decision.
- Pia resumed its European operations in January.
Karachi: A crucial meeting of the United Kingdom Air Safety Committee will take place on March 20 to review the five -year prohibition of the national airline of Pakistan and other carriers, according to officials of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The Committee will evaluate the case of all Pakistani airlines, including the international airlines of Pakistan (PIA), and deliberate on the possibility of raising restrictions.
The prohibition was applied in July 2020 by the United Kingdom aviation authorities and Europe after the false pilot license scandal. However, the Pakistani authorities continue with the hope that restrictions will be raised after tomorrow’s review.
In 2020, during the government of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI), the then Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the pilots were operating airplanes with false licenses.
This was his answer after Pia’s Airbus A-320 immersed himself on a Karachi street, killing almost 100 people.
After this, the PIA plagued by the debt was prohibited from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The ban cost the RS40 billion losses airline ($ 144 million) annually in revenue.
In January 2025, after a parenthesis of years, PIA operated its first direct flight from Islamabad to Paris, resuming its long -awaited flights to Europe.
Looking at the operations of the United Kingdom, Pia spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said that once cleared by the DFT, London, Manchester and Birmingham they would be the most wanted destinations.
PIA has 23% of the National Aviation Market of Pakistan, but its fleet of 34 planes cannot compete with the middle carriers who have 60%, due to the lack of direct flights, despite having agreements with 87 countries and key landing spaces.
