Pakistan International Airlines
has resumed flights to the European Union (EU), with the first flight following its ban in 2020 taking off from Islamabad to Paris on January 10.
Resuming flights to the EU
On January 10, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200ER
, registered as AP-BGK, departed on flight PK749 from Islamabad International Airport (ISB) to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport
Airport (CDG), marking the airline’s return to European skies for the first time since 2020.
Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock
The flight will land in the French capital at 16:17 local time (UTC +1) after departing the Pakistani capital at 12:40 local time (UTC +5). The airline marked the occasion at the airport, as well as releasing a statement celebrating its resumption of flights to the EU.
“Today, PIA proudly resumes its journey to Europe with the inaugural flight PK-749 from Islamabad to Paris, inaugurated by Chief Guest Khawaja Muhammad Asif. A momentous occasion celebrated in collaboration with Pakistan Post, as a special cancellation featuring the flight number was issued – a first in Pakistan’s philatelic history!”
According to a document published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), it added Pakistan International Airlines to its authorized third-country operators (TCO) list on November 29, 2024.
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PIA has demonstrated that it meets international safety requirements.
Resuming flights to the UK
However, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Administration ( CAA
) has not yet allowed Pakistan International Airlines to resume flights to the UK. According to Pakistan Today, representatives of the UK’s Department for Transport (DFT) will visit the country in mid-January before a potential lift of a ban that has prevented Pakistan International Airlines-operated flights from landing in the UK.
When the CAA banned Pakistan International Airlines from operating services to the country in June 2020 – following EASA’s
removal of the airline from its TCO – it allowed the carrier to market flights to the country using flights chartered by Hi Fly
, which came into effect on August 14, 2020.
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed that the flights had continued between 2020 and November 2022, with the Pakistani airline marketing flights from Islamabad to Birmingham Airport (BHX), London Heathrow Airport
(LHR), and Manchester Airport (MAN) in 2022 before it halted these operations for the time being.
Photo: Great Circle Map
Before its ban in 2020, Pakistan International Airlines operated flights to several destinations in Europe and the UK. For example, in June 2019, it had 12 routes to the continent, including the British Isles, with a total of 25 weekly flights during the month.
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Historically, the airline operated in New York, Chicago, London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Pilot license scandal
In June 2020, EASA banned Pakistan International Airlines, as well as Blue Air, which was also added to the approved TCO list on November 29, 2024, following a scandal in the country related to pilot licenses.
During the same month, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the former Federal Minister for Aviation of Pakistan, told the Parliament of Pakistan that many commercial pilots had fake licenses or had cheated in exams, according to a report by the BBC.
Photo: Mike Fuchslocher | Shutterstock
The country began investigating its pilots’ licenses following a crash in May 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320
impacted the ground near Karachi Jinnah International Airport (KHI), claiming the lives of 98 people, including 97 souls that were onboard the aircraft and one on the ground.
According to Khan, more than 260 of the country’s 860 active commercial pilot licenses had been either fake or obtained by cheating during exams. A Pakistan International Airlines spokesperson confirmed to AFP that around 150 out of its 434 pilots had suspicious licenses, the BBC added at the time.
