The European Commission has agreed to meet representatives of Pakistan’s civil aviation apex body as part of a technical meeting to lift the ban on direct flights from Pakistan to European destinations.
If approved, it could allow Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to resume direct flights to destinations such as the United Kingdom (UK) by the end of October.
A spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told JEE News that the invitation to the meeting is a major first step towards the resumption of direct Pakistani flights to European destinations.
Asked what the path to lifting the flight ban would look like, the official said once the technical discussions are complete, the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) will likely be asked to conduct an online audit of the airline. It will be said.
Thereafter, representatives of the European Commission may also conduct an on-site visit to CAA and PIA in Pakistan before a possible green light for direct flights.
The CAA official further said that the schedule for the visit of European Commission members is being decided.
However, he said that the authority hopes that the ban on PIA direct flights to Europe will be completely lifted from April 2023.
He said that EASA sent an e-mail to CAA regarding the matter stating that fruitful discussions are underway on the matter.
It should be noted that after the fake license scandal of PIA pilots came to light, Europe and UK had banned direct flights of PIA.
