Pakistani airlines to resume UK, EU flights after clearing ICAO safety audit

KARACHI: Pakistani airlines are likely to resume flights to the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) after clearing safety audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), ARY News reported on Wednesday.

It was learnt that Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) contacted European Commission to lift the ban on flights from Pakistan after the clearance of the ICAO safety audit.

According to the PCAA spokesperson, the authority is now seeking resumption of flight operations of Pakistan-registered airlines and aircraft in Europe and the UK after addressing the ICAO’s safety concerns.

READ: ICAO RELEASES INTERIM REPORT, NEW RANKING AFTER PCAA’S SAFETY AUDIT

It is expected that the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) civil aviation authorities will grant fast-track permission to the Pakistani airlines for resuming the flight operations.

The PCAA also completed preparations for organising the examination of pilots under a UK-like licencing system in the last week of March.

The licence issuance process of pilots will be started after the organisation of examination, the spokesperson added.

READ: PCAA HOPES TO RESUME PILOTS’ LICENSING IN FEBRUARY

Earlier, it emerged that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed satisfaction over safety measures from Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The satisfaction with the safety measures from ICAO has led to removing PCAA from the list of the safety-significant concern (SSC).

READ: PAKISTAN OUTSOURCES PILOTS’ LICENSING TO UK AVIATION AUTHORITY

The clearance of the SSC on PCAA will pave way for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to lift the ban on PIA flights from Pakistan to Europe.

The ICAO has given PCAA the ranking of 72.77 per cent during its audit under the Universal Safety Audit Oversight Programme (USOAP) in December 2021.