Europe to meet in November to consider lifting ban on PIA flights

The European Air Safety Committee (EASC) is set to meet in November to discuss lifting the ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on European routes, sources said on Friday.

According to the sources, the three-day-long meeting will be held from November 19 to November 21. The committee will review the developments, which were made by the Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Sources further said that the committee reviews the developments twice a year. It is restricted to conducting the meeting every six months.

Previously, the two foreign teams from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada had visited Pakistan to check the security protocols and inspect the security of flights.

According to the CAA, both teams declared PIA’s security efforts satisfactory. 

PIA was added to the banned flight list in May 2020 when its flight PK-8303 had met with an accident at Malir Model colony, at the time of the landing, leaving nearly 100 dead.

The investigations revealed that the pilot was holding a fake license, and the incident prompted the ECAS to ban the national airline from its routes in Europe and Britain.

The ban continues costing the national carrier flag an annual of nearly Rs40 billion.