BRUSSELS – A team of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) arrived in Brussels to resume talks on the restoration of flights for the country’s airlines to European destinations.
The high-profile team aims to discuss with the European Commission (EC), issues related to technical discussions and ways for the resumption of flights.Â
Though an official press release is awaited, sources confided that the CAA delegation’s main task is to convince the European Commission to revive the operation of flights from Pakistan to European destinations.
The delegation comprising the CAA’s Deputy Director General and Airworthiness Director is expected to apprise EC and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) representatives about steps taken by the authorities to enhance flight safety and pilot license examinations.
The EASA has already given its clearance to PIA after a remote audit a few weeks back which was a significant development in this regard. Meanwhile, an on-site audit by EASA is expected in September, in which a physical inspection would be done and the results would be of pivotal importance.
If the PCCA visit to Brussels and the upcoming audit are successful, the restoration of PIA’s flights to Europe will be on the cards.
The flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to the United Kingdom and other European destinations were halted due to multiple issues including a statement by former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar in which he had claimed that the licenses of most of the pilots of the national flag carrier were fake.
Direct flights between UK and Pakistan through Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been at a halt since July 2020. Not only that, direct flights through other carriers have also been affected.
In 2020, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operations for Europe over safety concerns.
EASA said that they had 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, out of which five of the action plans were implemented while one other concerning element of a Safety Management System was not implemented.
