'EU to lift ban on PIA flights by THIS month'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) hoped that the European Union (EU) would lift the ban on the airline by November, ARY News reported.

PIA Chief Commercial Officer, Nosherwan Adil said that the EU’s Air Safety Committee is scheduled to meet in November.

“We are very hopeful that the ban will be lifted during the meeting,” he added.

The PIA chief commercial officer Adil also stated that the privatisation process of PIA is moving forward in a ‘transparent ‘manner.

He said that six organisations are interested in taking over the charge of the airline. Nosherwan Adil assured that no employee will be laid off during the process.

Earlier, it was reported that the EU refused to lift the ban on Pakistani air carriers including PIA.

Read More: PIA privatisation: Private companies seek details on airline’s operations

The European Union (EU) in its recent meeting in June found ‘no grounds’ for amending the current list of air carriers banned from operating within the Union, including Pakistani airlines.

This decision came after a comprehensive review by the EU Air Safety Committee, which involved an on-site evaluation of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and sample assessments of Pakistani air carriers Fly Jinnah and Airblue Ltd.