PIA flights to Europe,Ban lifted
Asif says EASA ban lifting to help in privatisation of loss-making PIA
Islamabad-(Mudassar Iqbal)-In a major breakthrough for Pakistan’s aviation industry, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has officially lifted the ban on Pakistani airlines, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), allowing them to resume direct flights to Europe.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has lifted ban on the flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Europe after a gap of nearly fours, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday.
Making an announcement via an X post on Friday, Asif — who also holds portfolio of aviation minister — wrote: “It is a momentous day to announce that the European Commission and the EASA have lifted the suspension on PIA flights to Europe.””Not only this, TCO [Third Country Operators] authorisation has also been issued to the second Pakistani airline — Airblue Limited,” he added.
The minister also stated that Third Country Operator (TCO) authorization has also been issued to a private Pakistani airline “Airblue”.
“It is made possible due to complete focus of Aviation Ministry to strengthen Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and ensuring safety oversight in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards”, Khawaja Asif said.
He added that the PML-N government has taken significant measures to strengthen PCAA including the enactment of PCAA Act, smooth segregation of regulator and service providers, appointment of professional leadership and training to build the capacity.
The aviation minister expressed gratitude to the European Commission and EASA for conducting a transparent process and our commitment to ensure Aviation safety in Pakistan.
He also expressed hope that the UK and other countries would follow the EU, to remove the ban on PIA.
The development came after a comprehensive review by the EU Air Safety Committee, which involved an on-site evaluation of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and sample assessments of Pakistani air carriers. It is pertinent to note here that the UK and several other EU countries suspended PIA’s flight operations due to concerns about the authenticity of pilot licenses in 2020.
Fake licenses,
The European authorities had initially imposed a ban on the operation of Pakistani airlines in July 2020 for six months after the then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar revealed that pilots possessed “fake” licences.
Since then, the safety agency kept extending the ban on PIA flights to fly to the bloc, citing concerns about “Pakistan’s ability to ensure compliance with international aviation standards at all times”.
The ban was a big blow to the airline, which was already under scrutiny across the world due to uncovered pitfalls within Pakistan’s aviation industry.
The startling revelations came as Sarwar presented the interim report on the probe into the PIA PK-8303 crash that resulted in the deaths of 85 passengers after the plane crashed in Karachi on May 22, 2020.
Following the report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had expressed concern over the “serious lapse in licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator”.
Subsequently, on June 24, 2020, the aviation minister announced that the qualifications of 262 of the country’s 860 pilots in Pakistan are “dubious” and thus they will be barred from flying.
It is to be noted that EASA licenses, issued by the European Union, carry weight not only within EU member states but also in numerous other countries.
