Pakistan’s state-run airlines resume flights to Europe

PIA resumes direct flights to Europe after a 4-year EU ban. First flight to Paris launched, marking a new chapter in Pakistan's aviation post-safety standards improvement.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed direct flights to Europe on Friday as the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency decided to lift a four-year ban over safety standards.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-a-week flights to Paris, while a replica of Arc de Triomphe at Islamabad Airport welcomed up to 300 passengers of the Inaugural flight to France. He said that PIA would soon extend its flights to take in other European countries.  

Asif said in a speech that the EU Agency had imposed the ban on PIA’s operations in Europe because of an “irresponsible statement” by a former aviation minister.

The EU blocked PIA in 2020 after one of its Airbus A-320s crashed in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing 97 people. During the investigation, a former aviation official said that the investigation found that a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated at their exams. A government probe later concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error.

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