High-profile meeting scheduled to decide on PIA flight resumption to Europe

ISLAMABAD - Another crucial meeting is scheduled next month to examine the resumption of Pakistan International Airlines' flights to different destinations in Europe. 

In this regard, a delegation led by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General Khaqan Murtaza is set to attend the meeting of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in May.

The participants of the meeting would inspect whether the national carrier of Pakistan is fit to operate flights to Europe or not. 

During the meeting, a report on the audit of various departments of the CAA in light of EASA standards would come under inspection. The meeting comes months after an EASA team visited Pakistan to assess various aspects of the CAA and PIA, including licensing, flight safety, flight standards, and airworthiness, Express Tribune reported.

Sources close to the developments suggest that the national carrier and aviation regulator in Pakistan have fulfilled all the requirements of the agency, and the restrictions on Pakistan would likely be lifted; however, a final decision will be made after the meeting.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the authorization for the PIA to operate in European Union member countries in 2020; the ban was announced after multiple crash incidents and a statement by the then aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar, about fake licenses acquired by the national flag carrier's pilots. 

EASA had announced that they suspended the Third Country Operator (TCO) Authorisation to PIA after it failed to comply with the proposed corrective action plans (CAPs). At least six findings were raised with the PIA officials during meetings in June and September 2019.

Interestingly, the caretaker regime had decided in principle to privatize the national carrier for which a consultant had also been hired who had submitted a report to the government. The incumbent regime has announced that the privatization of the carrier would be completed by June this year.