Canada validates PIA’s airworthiness

KARACHI: Transport Canada has issued a letter to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on successfully completing a safety validation and airworthiness audit conducted on ICAO airworthiness elements, a statement said.

The letter, issued on August 11, 2021, declared PIA's operations up to international standards and closed down all its reservations pertaining to the flight safety and operations of Pakistan's national flag carrier. The audit was conducted in the aftermath of the flight authorizations suspension by the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) on all Pakistani operators consequent to the pilots licenses scandal.

Transport Canada's Safety Validation and Airworthiness Audit Desk conducted the audit of PIA from August 2020 till September 2020.

Though interim permissions were granted to PIA to operate into Canadian territory which it used to conduct repatriation operations during the period of Covid-19 flight restrictions and later were converted into regular passenger flights, still continuing to this day. “With new validation, PIA can operate with much more ease and comfort,” the statement said.

It is worth mentioning that the premier airlines safety audit and accreditation agency IOSA, has already issued operators license to PIA till July of 2023.