PIA remains on UK Air Safety list, ban still in place

LONDON: The UK Department for Transport confirmed on Tuesday that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will remain on the Air Safety List.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is in contact with Pakistani authorities on the matter, a department spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that airlines must undergo a rigorous process before the restrictions are lifted.

The UK Air Safety List includes countries and airlines that are banned from operating flights to, from or within the UK due to safety concerns. According to the UK’s official website, all Pakistani certified airlines have been barred from operating commercial flights in the UK.

Recently, reports had said that the ban on PIA’s flights to the UK could be lifted soon, as the UK Air Safety Committee held a key meeting on the subject.

The ban was initially imposed by UK and European aviation regulators in July 2020 following a dispute over fake pilot licenses. However, Pakistani authorities are optimistic about a positive outcome in the upcoming review.

In 2020, the then aviation minister under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, alleged that several pilots were flying with fake licenses. His statement came after the tragic crash of a PIA Airbus A-320 in Karachi, which killed nearly 100 people.

As a result, PIA was banned from operating in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The ban caused the struggling airline to lose an estimated Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually.

After years of suspension, PIA resumed its European operations in January 2025 with a direct flight from Islamabad to Paris.