UK lifts flight restrictions on Pakistani airlines

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom (UK) has lifted the ban on the Pakistan International Airlines on Wednesday, according to media reports.

The Pakistani aircraft can ask for permission for the flight operation to the UK after a five-year ban following the fake license issue of Pakistani pilots, according to the UK High Commission.

According to the High Commission, permission shall be sought from the Civil Aviation Authority of the UK for the operations.

The British High Commission says the removal from the safety list was done through an independent and technical process.

UK high commissioner in Pakistan, Jane Marriott, said that she is looking forward to flying on Pakistani airlines, adding that Improved air links with Pakistan will help reunite families.

After the government’s continued efforts, in November last year, the European Union lifted the ban on Pakistani airlines’ flights to Europe, but now the United Kingdom has also lifted the ban on Pakistani airlines.

Earlier, former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that pilots were operating planes with fake licenses while addressing the Parliament in 2020, during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government. Following this statement, PIA was banned from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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