Flight ban: UK aviation team arrives in Pakistan to review safety steps

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) team on Wednesday arrived in Karachi to review safety measures for the restoration of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to European countries.

To conduct a remote safety audit of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority CAA, the UK aviation team came to Pakistan for a seven-day visit (PCAA).

On March 7, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which will follow the UK aviation team, plans to perform a safety assessment of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority CAA (PCAA). The audit will assess PIA's airworthiness and if it will be permitted to use European airspace once again.

A European Union agency in charge of civil aviation safety is the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. It performs inquiry and monitoring in addition to certification, regulation, and standardization. If the audit is successful, PIA and other domestic private airlines would be able to resume operations in the EU.

Prior to this, the United Kingdom (UK) refused to lift the ban on flights operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), citing safety concerns to the nation's Civil Aviation Authority.

It must be emphasised that the EASA suspended the national airline's authorization to conduct flights to EU member states, that resulted in PIA being prohibited from flying to those countries.

After the plane disaster in Karachi on May 20, 2022, and after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar claimed that almost 40% of Pakistani pilots had false licences, the limitations were put in place.