PIA resumes Europe operations as first flight leaves from Paris

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed its flight operation from Europe using alternate resources as the first flight left from Paris for Pakistan on Saturday, ARY NEWS reported.

The first PIA flight from Paris using alternative resources carried 260 passengers.

In his statement on the resumption of the flight operation, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar said that they were taking every measure to resume PIA flight operations for Europe.

“The reservations raised by the [European Union Aviation Safety Agency] EASA will be addressed soon,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on June 30 announced to suspend Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operations for Europe over safety concerns.

The suspension will come into force from Wednesday and will remain in place for six months.

All PIA flights to Europe will remain suspended after the order as the national flag carrier has asked passengers to either refund their tickets or extend them for a later date.

The EASA in a letter conveyed to the national flag carrier, said that they had suspended the Third Country Operator (TCO) Authorisation to PIA after it failed to comply with the proposed corrective action plans (CAPs).

It said that six findings were raised with the PIA officials during meetings in June and September 2019, out of which five of the action plans were implemented while one other concerning elements of a Safety Management Systems was not implemented.

It further quoted the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar’s remarks at the floor of the National Assembly, where he said that 260 out of 860 pilots’ licenses issued by the Pakistani authorities and used by pilots operating for air operators certified in Pakistan are fraudulent.