Report: EU aviation commission agrees to meet Pakistan for possible PIA flight revival
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan is desperately trying to get revocation of the ban imposed on its airline by Europe after a string of scandals and safety issues. In the latest move, the civil aviation officials of the country have been granted a meeting with EU officials later this month. According to local media, the meeting is scheduled for October 25.
This comes months after Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said that International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) has agreed to an online audit after which the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will also do a physical auditin the month of October. If approved, the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) can restart direct flights to European countries and the UK as early as the end of this month, reports suggest.
The PIA first came under scrutiny after its flight PK8303 crashed in Karachi on May 22, 2020, killing at least 97 passengers. The initial report said that the crash was due to a human error by the pilot and the air traffic control. The investigation following the incident led the former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan to ground at least 262 airline pilots who were suspected of bypassing their examination.
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In July 2020, the EASA suspended the authorisation for PIA flights to operate in EU countries for six months. According to reports, the EASA raised concerns regarding the pilots’ licensing issue in the country and cited the Pakistan aviation minister’s speech in the Parliament which indicated that at least one-third of Pakistani pilots had fake licences.
The EU had also expressed concerns over CAA’s safety deficiencies which included the whole process of licencing and authorisations, application and oversight of safety management systems and establishment of the occurrence reporting system, and so on. Since then Pakistan has repeatedly attempted to get the ban lifted, however, it was retained again earlier this year in January.
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According to sources, the CAA has indicated that the technical discussion with the EASA has concluded and they will conduct an online audit of the airline after which they would also conduct a physical audit of both the CAA and PIA. If approved, they will possibly let PIA flights in EU countries again. The CAA officials expressed hope that the ban on PIA flights is lifted by early 2023, the local media reported.
(With inputs from agencies)
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