PIA’s UK flights on the horizon

In a promising development, a delegation from the British Department for Transport (DFT) is set to arrive in Karachi during the last week of October, raising hopes for the resumption of Pakistan's flights to the UK.

Sources indicate that the DFT delegation will conduct a comprehensive audit of Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) safety management system, flight data monitoring, and assess its Boeing 777 aircraft.

Following their evaluation of PIA, the UK team will proceed to audit Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

This visit comes in the wake of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspending PIA's authorization to operate in EU member countries in July 2020, a move subsequently mirrored by UK and US aviation authorities. The EASA had extended these travel restrictions indefinitely.

PIA faced intensified scrutiny following the tragic crash of flight PK-8303 in Karachi on May 22, 2020, and the subsequent announcement by then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan regarding the grounding of 262 airline pilots suspected of malpractice in their exams.

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A spokesperson for PIA confirmed that all necessary preparations for the DFT team's visit have been completed. It is anticipated that the prospects for the restoration of direct flights to the UK and European countries will significantly improve following the visits by the DFT and EASA.

Notably, the EASA had already cleared PIA during a remote audit, marking a positive step toward resuming the national flag carrier's flights to European destinations. Sources reveal that the online audit by EASA took place a few months ago, with a scheduled physical audit planned for this month. However, the Director General of the CAA mentioned that the EASA had committed to visiting Pakistan in November for the purpose of restoring flights.

In a proactive move, a team from the Pakistan CAA had traveled to Brussels, Belgium, last month to facilitate the restoration of flights for the country's airlines to European destinations. The discussions with European officials in Brussels were reported to be successful.The upcoming physical audit by the EASA, encompassing both PIA and the CAA, holds the potential to pave the way for the revival of Pakistan's flight operations to European destinations.
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(With input from agencies)