Lifting of EU ban on PIA flights quite likely after ICAO report

The prospects of the lifting of a ban imposed by the European Union (EU) on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operation have become brighter now as an interim audit report of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), released by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on Sunday, gave the Authority 72.77 per cent in its ranking, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Quoting sources, the channel reported that the interim report would be followed by the ICAO audit team’s complete report, which will be released within 15 days, and it was hoped that the EU, after reading the report, would lift the ban it had imposed on the national flag carrier and the country’s other airlines’ flights due to concerns over reports of Pakistani pilots possessing fake degrees.

Sources disclosed that the ICAO had asked the CAA to further improve its ranking, and take it to 75 per cent in 2022. 

They further said that an extremely positive audit report was the result of untiring efforts made by the CAA during the last one year to improve its position on the ICAO ranking.   

In June, 2021, European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) had suspended the PIA’s flight operation in Europe for six months in the wake of the grounding of 262 Pakistani pilots whose licenses were termed “dubious” by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

The safety watchdog had said it was concerned about the validity of the Pakistani pilots’ licenses following the minister’s statement.