The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has cleared the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in its remote audit paving way for the airline’s resumption of flights to European destinations. As per sources, the online audit of the PIA was conducted by the EASA a few months ago.
The EASA will come to Pakistan in September 2023 to conduct a physical audit of the PIA as well as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). After the success of the final audit, PIA’s flights to Europe will be restored.
The national flag carrier has been banned from flying to European countries since June 2020 on the backdrop of Pakistan's fake pilot license scandal in which 262 of the country's pilots suspended, including 141 from PIA.
Opening of the UK market would be extremely beneficial for the airline as it makes up for 37% of the airline revenue.
Although as of now there is no clear timeline on the resumption of flights, last week, Pakistan's Federal Aviation Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, told officials that PIA was likely to resume flights to the UK in the next three months.
In the past, PIA flew to several UK airports, including London Heathrow (LHR), Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), and Leeds Bradford (LBA), from its hubs at Islamabad International Airport (ISB), Jinnah International Airport (KHI) in Karachi, and Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE) in Lahore.