The European Commission has agreed to meet with representatives of Pakistan’s apex civil aviation body on October 25 as part of a technical meeting to deliberate and eventually lift the ban on direct flights from Pakistan to European destinations. If approved, it could see Pakistan International Airline (PIA) restart direct flights to destinations such as the United Kingdom (UK) by the end of October. A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson told media that the invitation for the meeting is a major first step in resumption of direct Pakistani flights to European destinations. Asked about what would the pathway to reversal of the flight ban would look like, the official said that once the technical discussion is concluded, the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) will probably be asked to conduct an audit of the airline online.

Thereafter, representatives of the European Commission may also conduct an on-site visit of CAA and PIA in Pakistan ahead of possible green-light for direct flights. The CAA official further said that the schedule for the visit of European Commission members is still being finalized. However, he said that the authority hopes that from the April 2023, the ban on PIA’s direct flights to Europe will be completely lifted. He said that EASA also sent CAA an email regarding the matter saying that fruitful discussion regarding the pertaining matter are on going. It is worth noting that Europe and UK had restricted direct flights by PIA when a scam of fake licenses of PIA pilots came to light.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP