PIA upbeat about resumption of UK flights

British authority to review airline's case on March 12

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LAHORE:

Now that the PIA has resumed its flights to the European Union (EU), the management of the cash-strapped national flag carrier has high hopes that authorities of the United Kingdom (UK) will also grant it permission to resume its flight operation to the UK after a lapse of over four years.

Sources revealed that the British Safety Committee is scheduled to review the request for resumption of PIA flights in its meeting scheduled for March 12.

The British Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport (DfT) team will present the recent audit report of the PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan at the meeting. If approved by the British Safety Committee, PIA's direct flights to the UK will also be restored.

PIA management is confident about the resumption of flights to the UK.

The airline has already prepared a plan to immediately commence operations to London, Manchester, and Birmingham as soon as approval is granted. A two-member PIA team recently returned to Pakistan after assessing preparations for flight operations in the UK, sources added.

The EU and UK aviation authorities imposed a temporary ban on the PIA in June 2020 after the aviation minister during the PTI rule revealed in parliament that a number of pilots in Pakistan had fake licenses.

The PIA's flight operation to the EU was resumed on January 11.