Pakistan International Airlines resumes flights to UK after 5-year suspension

PIA’s UK flights were banned in 2020 after the licence scandal. PIC/GETTY IMAGES

State-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday resumed its flight operations to the UK after a five-year suspension following a ban imposed over a fake pilot licence scandal. The first flight from Islamabad to Manchester since July 2020 departed with 284 passengers on board in the presence of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UK Civil Aviation Authority had banned PIA flights in 2020, after a tragic air crash in Karachi left around 100 passengers dead, and it was revealed that many Pakistani pilots held fake licences.

While EASA lifted the ban in November last year, the UK removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List in July this year, allowing Pakistani airlines to apply to operate flights in Britain. PIA said it would initially operate two weekly flights between Islamabad and Manchester, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with plans to expand their operations to London and Birmingham gradually.

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