Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s flag carrier, has begun planning to resume direct flights to France and other European countries.
The management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) published a tender for cargo handling services in France and requested applications by August 24.
According to a PIA representative, the applications will be forwarded to the PIA’s country manager in France.
Following permission from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the national carrier is anticipated to be able to resume direct flights to European countries after a three-year suspension.
In September of this year, a delegation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will visit Pakistan to examine a ban on Pakistan International Airlines flights to Europe. EASA is in charge of assuring safety and environmental protection in European air transport.
The EASA delegation will conduct a physical audit of both PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority. According to sources, clearing the audit could result in the lifting of the restriction on PIA flights to the European Union.
Earlier this month, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique stated that Pakistan International Airlines will likely restart flights to the United Kingdom within the next three months.
Rafique informed lawmakers that new legislation passed this week removed the final barrier to Pakistan’s national carrier flying to the United Kingdom.
He provided no information on the legislation or why the flights had to be resumed. He stated that the restoration of services to the United Kingdom does not include additional European destinations.
“God willing, PIA flights will resume at least to the UK in three months, and, later, flights to Europe and America will resume,” he stated.
Flights to Europe and the United Kingdom were halted when the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) cancelled the national carrier’s permission to fly to the EU in 2020, citing a bogus pilot licence scam in the South Asian country.
