- Restricted restrictions due to fake pilot license scam.
- Pakistani officials expect positive decisions.
- Piya resumed her Europe’s operation in January.
Karachi: According to officials of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an important meeting of the UK Air Safety Committee is scheduled on 20 March to review the five -year ban on Pakistan’s National Airline and other carriers.
The committee will assess the case of all Pakistani airlines – including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) – and consult the possibility of lifting restrictions.
The ban was implemented in July 2020 by the UK and European aviation officials after the fake pilot license scam. However, Pakistani officials hope that the restrictions will be lifted after tomorrow’s review.
In 2020, during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government, the then Retention Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that the pilots were operating aircraft with fake licenses.
This was his response after Piya’s Airbus A -320s fell into the Karachi street, killing about 100 people.
Subsequently, debt-affected Piya was banned from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The ban costs the annual deficit airline at Rs40 billion ($ 144 million).
In January 2025, after years a gap, the PIA conducted its first direct flight from Islamabad to Paris, which resumed its long -awaited flights in Europe.
Focusing on the operation of the UK, PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafze Khan said once was approved by DFT, London, Manchester and Birmingham.
The PIA holds 23% of Pakistan’s domestic aviation market, but its 34-plane fleet cannot compete with 60% of the Middle Eastern carrier due to lack of direct flights despite agreements with 87 countries and major landing slots.
