• European air safety watchdog lifts ban on national flag carrier after improvement in PCAA’s safety oversight
• Airblue also gets permission for commercial operations to continental Europe
• PM, aviation minister, other officials hail ‘momentous day’

RAWALPINDI: The European aviation regulator has lifted the ban on Pakistan International Airlines flights to Europe after more than four years, Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) banned the nat­ional carrier from Europe over dubious pilot licences in 2020 after PIA’s flight from Lahore crashed near Karachi’s Jinnah Inter­national Airport, killing around 100 people.

In a speech on the National Assembly floor after the crash, the then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar claimed “almost 40 per cent” of pilots working in Pakistan airlines have fake licences.

Following the minister’s statement, European and UK authorities ban­ned PIA from their territories, which were the airline’s most profitable routes.

A number of foreign airlines also grounded Pak­istani-origin pilots over concerns about their licences.

‘Momentous day’

The ban has now been lifted after PIA “demonstrated to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency compliance” safety standards, the regulator said in a statement on Friday.

The agency has also granted the ‘third country operator (TCO) authorisation to Airblue, allowing the private airline to start commercial flights to Europe.

“It is a momentous day to announce that the Euro­pean Commission and EASA has lifted the suspension on PIA flights to Europe,” the aviation minister wrote in a post on X.

The development was made possible due to the aviation ministry’s “complete focus” on strengthening the Pakistan Civil Avi­ation Authority (PCAA) and ensuring safety oversight in line with the International Civil Avia­tion Organisation’s standards.

In response to Dawn’s query, Janet Northcote, the Easa spokesperson said the removal of PIA’s ban and the permission to Airblue came after the agency “re-established sufficient confidence in the PCAA oversight capabilities”.

She said PIA and Airlbue can perform air transport operations to and from the EU.

It added that the ban on PIA was imposed in 2020, after “factual and verifiable evidence” that the PCAA’s ability to oversee air operators “had deg­ra­ded below acceptable level”.

“Since that time, EASA, in close coordination with the European Commission (EC) … has been in a continuous dialogue with the PCAA and both operators,” the agency said, adding that it now has “sufficient confidence” in PCAA’s oversight capabilities.

Mr Asif also expressed gratitude to the European Commission and Easa for ensuring transparency while evaluating PIA’s compliance with air safety standards.

“Our government has taken significant measures to strengthen PCAA, inclu­ding enactment of PCAA Act, smooth segregation of regulators and service providers, appointment of professional leadership and training to build the capacity,” he wrote on X.

The national carrier has called Easa’s decision a “significant development” for Pakistan’s aviation industry.

The PIA spokesperson stated that the airline would continue to adhere to Easa’s regulations and guidelines.

“This milestone has been achieved after four years of relentless efforts by the PIA management.”

Felicitations

PIA CEO Air Vice Marshal Aamir Hayat has congratulated the aviation ministry, PCAA and the airline’s management.

With Easa’s decision, Pakistanis can once again travel directly to European destinations using their national flag carrier, he added.

“This development is a testament to PIA’s compliance with international aviation safety standards, the spokesperson concluded.”

The PCAA director general, Nadir Dar, also congratulated the two airlines on this “momentous occasion”.

He thanked the European Commission and Easa officials for coordination and support throughout the evaluation process.

The reopening of PIA’s profitable European routes is also expected to give oomph to the government’s efforts to privatise the loss-making airline.

The initial attempt to privatise PIA failed earlier this month as the sole bid was around Rs75 billion lower than the government’s expectations.

The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only one buyer — real estate development company Blue World City — participated in the final bidding process with a bid of Rs10 billion, against the official expectation of Rs85bn.

Experts believed that Easa’s ban was one of the reasons for the investors’ lack of interest in buying the airline, as its revenue has taken a serious hit since the ban was imposed in 2020.

A Reuters report earlier this year said the airline suffered annual losses of Rs40 billion due to the ban.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2024