Following the lifting of the EU aviation regulator’s ban on the flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Sunday that it anticipates shortly to restart flights throughout Europe and is considering a number of UK destinations.
Concerns over the capacity of Pakistani authorities and its Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to guarantee adherence to international aviation standards led the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to suspend PIA’s authorization to operate in the EU in June 2020.
According to PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan, “PIA intends to approach the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) for UK route resumption, as EASA clearance is a prerequisite for their decision,” he told Reuters.
After Pakistan started looking into the validity of pilots’ licenses after a plane crash that killed 97 people, the EASA and UK authorities stopped PIA’s ability to operate in the area.
According to Khan, the airline anticipates commencing flights to Europe again in the next three to four weeks, with Paris as the first destination.
Khan stated that London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most popular destinations when PIA receives license for flights to the UK.
The government and PIA, who want to sell 60% of the carrier, had pushed EASA to relax the prohibition, even temporarily. The airline lost 40 billion rupees ($144 million) a year as a result of the prohibition.
According to Khan, the business has enough financial flow to open more routes. He stated that after the government completes talks on privatization, decisions about the lease of new aircraft will be taken.
The losing national carrier owns a 23 percent share in Pakistan’s domestic aviation industry, but while having agreements with 87 countries and important landing slots, its 34-plane fleet is unable to compete with Middle Eastern carriers, which have a 60 percent market share.
When the government only got one offer, which was far less than what it was asking for, its attempt to privatize the airline failed.
We expect more revenue potential and, consequently, an increase in PIA’s value during the privatization process, given the current European and future UK routes,” Khan stated.
