Britain on Wednesday lifted a five-year ban on Pakistani airlines, allowing carriers to apply to resume flights to the UK after significant improvements in aviation safety standards.
The ban was imposed in 2020, just days after a revelation that nearly one-third of the country’s pilots had obtained their licenses fraudulently.
The announcement follows the widespread acknowledgment of Pakistan’s dedicated efforts to enhance air safety.
Earlier this year, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted a significant five-year ban, paving the way for the revival of direct flights to Europe.
This stringent ban was initially enforced after a dramatic revelation by then-Pakistani Aviation Minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, concerning fraudulent documentation.
The issue came to light in the aftermath of a devastating Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash that tragically claimed the lives of 97 individuals in May 2020, when an airplane plummeted onto a street in Karachi. This bustling city, the capital of the southwestern Sindh province, serves as Pakistan’s central economic powerhouse.
Reflecting this important development, the British High Commission in Islamabad remarked that the decision resulted from ‘extensive engagement’ between the UK’s robust Air Safety Committee and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. They emphasized that such verdicts on the de-listing of states and air carriers are reached ‘through an independent aviation safety process.’