Flight ban: UK aviation team arrives in Pakistan to review safety steps

KARACHI: The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) team on Wednesday arrived in Karachi to review safety measures for the restoration of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to European countries, ARY News reported.

The UK aviation team has reached Pakistan on a 7-day visit to conduct a remote safety audit of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority CAA (PCAA).

Following the UK aviation team, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is also scheduled to conduct a safety audit of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority CAA (PCAA) on March 7. The audit will determine the airworthiness of PIA, and whether it will regain access to European airspace.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitoring. A successful audit would allow PIA and other private airlines of chte country to restart flights to the EU.

Earlier, the United Kingdom (UK) refused to lift the ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights, expressing its safety reservations to the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

It may be noted here that PIA was restricted from flying to EU states after the EASA suspended the national airline’s authorisation to operate flights to EU member states.

The restrictions were imposed in the wake of the May 22, 2020, Karachi plane crash and a statement by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar that around 40 percent of Pakistani pilots had fake licences.