The United Kingdom has removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, allowing Pakistani airlines, including the national carrier PIA, to apply for permission to resume direct flights to the UK.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the UK’s Air Safety Committee, following a detailed technical review and sustained collaboration with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to improve aviation safety standards.
Read More: Pakistan to Introduce 35 New Medicines for Major Diseases
Pakistan had been placed on the list in 2021, following safety concerns sparked by the 2020 fake pilot license scandal, when then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed that dozens of pilots held dubious credentials. The claim was made after a PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi, which killed nearly 100 people.
While being removed from the safety list marks a major step forward, Pakistani airlines will still need to obtain individual operating permits from the UK Civil Aviation Authority before launching commercial flights.
The decision is expected to ease travel for the 1.6 million-strong Pakistani diaspora in the UK and strengthen bilateral trade ties, which currently stand at £4.7 billion.
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott welcomed the move, praising the cooperation between aviation regulators. “I look forward to flying with a Pakistani airline once services restart,” she said.
[…] Read More: Good News About Direct Flights Between Pakistan and UK […]