ISLAMABAD: The Pak­­istan Civil Aviation Auth­ority (PCCA) has sus­pen­ded the Air Operator Cer­tificate of the private airline Serene Air, citing a lack of serviceable aircraft and a failure to maintain the minimum req­uired fleet size.

In its order, the PCAA said the airline could not sustain the capacity for safe air operations.

“Serene Air has failed to comply with the regulatory requirement of maintaining the prescribed minimum fleet size and presently has zero serviceable aircraft available for operations,” the PCAA said.

The suspension was effective immediately, meaning that the airline will not be able to operate domestic flights.

The authority has directed the airline to surrender its certificate for endorsement and has notified its flight operations director and other relevant authorities.

The PCAA also issued a public announcement regarding the decision.

“The Pakistan Civil Avi­ation Authority (PCAA) has suspended the Air Ope­rator Certificate of Serene Air due to unavailability of its serviceable aircrafts,” the announcement said.

“The case for reinstatement of the Air Operator Certificate will be reviewed once the airline makes its aircraft available for operations,” the announcement said.

It may be recalled that during his recent visit to China, President Asif Ali Zardari had met Serene Air CEO Yunchun Yang in Kashgar. According to a post on the president’s official X account, he had urged the expansion of the airline’s fleet to enhance connectivity, while the airline’s CEO reaffirmed a commitment to invest further in Pakistan’s aviation sector.

PIA gets UK operating permit

In a separate development, flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is set to resume flights to the United Kingdom this month after receiving a key operating permit, the Pakistan High Commission in London announced on Friday.

The announcement, posted on X, did not provide an exact date for the resumption of flights.

“High Commissioner [Dr Muhammad Faisal] is grateful to the Civil Aviation Authority UK for issuing the Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit (FOP) today, the final document enabling commercial flights between the UK and Pakistan,” the post read.

PIA has received Third Country Operator approval, a necessary step for operations in the UK According to the announcement, flights will first resume to Manchester, with services to Birmingham and London to follow.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2025