UK flight ban on PIA expected to 'end' soon

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is likely soon regain permission to fly to Britain following the conclusion of a key meeting by the British Air Safety Committee, Geo News reported.

The discussion focused on the potential removal of the five-year restriction imposed on the national airline.

Sources said that the British Air Safety Committee is expected to inform the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of its decision in the coming days.

The ban was enforced in July 2020 by the UK and European aviation authorities following the fake pilot licence scandal. However, Pakistani authorities remain hopeful that the restrictions will be lifted following tomorrow’s review.

In 2020, during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) government, then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that pilots were operating planes with fake licences.

This was his response after PIA's Airbus A-320s plunged into a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.

Following this, the debt-ridden PIA was banned from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The ban cost the loss-making airline Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in revenue.

In January 2025, after years-long hiatus, the PIA operated its first direct flight from Islamabad to Paris, resuming its long-awaited flights to Europe.

Eyeing UK operations, PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan on Wednesday said that once cleared by the DfT, London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations.

PIA has 23% of Pakistan's domestic aviation market, but its 34-plane fleet cannot compete with Middle Eastern carriers which have 60%, due to a lack of direct flights, despite having agreements with 87 countries and key landing slots.