PIA's first flight set to depart for Paris after four years

ISLAMABAD: After a four-and-a-half-year break, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is scheduled to restart operations in European nations on January 10 with its first flight scheduled to depart for Paris, ARY News reported.

According to a PIA spokesperson, the airline will operate two direct flights to Paris on a weekly basis. The first flight, PK219, will depart from Islamabad at 12:10 PM on January 10. The spokesperson added that the booking for the first two flights to and from Paris is already full. Passengers will be able to access in-flight entertainment on their mobiles, tablets, and laptops.

After Pakistan started looking into a scandal involving the validity of pilots’ licenses following an aircraft accident that claimed 97 lives, the European Aviation Safety Agency revoked PIA’s permit to fly in the area

Earlier, PIA Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Khurram Mushtaq announced plans to bring several grounded aircraft back into fleet operation from next year.

According to the PIA CEO, in the next six months, the airline plans to activate Boeing 777 and Airbus aircraft, increasing the operational fleet to 24 aircraft.

The acting CEO, Khurram Mushtaq, revealed that out of 34 aircraft in PIA’s fleet, only 16 were operational.

However, within three weeks, the PIA team worked diligently to activate three aircraft, including Boeing 777, Airbus 320, and one ATR, for aerial operations. As a result, the number of active aircraft in the fleet has now reached 19.