(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Pakistan's beleaguered national airline will resume flights to
Europe on January 10 after European Union authorities lifted a
four-year ban on the carrier, the company said in a statement on
Saturday, Azernews reports, citing Arab News.
The statement from Pakistan International Airline (PIA), which
was at the center of a pilot license scandal, said a“PIA flight
will depart from Islamabad to Paris on January 10.”
“Initially, two flights will be operated weekly (on Friday and
Sunday), which will gradually be increased.”
PIA was barred from flying to the EU in June 2020, a month after
one of its aircraft plunged into a street in the southern city of
Karachi, killing nearly 100 people.
The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air
traffic control, and was followed by allegations that nearly a
third of the licenses for its pilots were fake or dubious.
The airline remains banned from operating in the United
States.
After Europe's ban was lifted last week, a spokesman for the
carrier said they would“strictly adhere to EASA's regulations and
guidelines,” referring to the European Union's aviation
authority.
PIA, which employs 7,000 people, has long been accused of being
bloated and poorly run - hobbled by unpaid bills, a poor safety
record and regulatory issues.
Pakistan's government has said it is committed to privatising
the debt-ridden airline and has been scrambling to find a
buyer.
Last month, a deal fell through after a potential buyer
reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.
The sale was also part of IMF demands in exchange for aid programs,
including the privatization of public companies, establishing a
broader tax base and ending subsidies for the 40 percent of
Pakistanis who live below the poverty line.
In 2023, PIA had losses of $270 million according to local
media. Its liabilities were nearly $3 billion, about five times the
total worth of its assets. Last year, dozens of flights were
canceled when it could not afford fuel for its planes.
While speaking to reporters last week, Pakistan's aviation
minister Khawaja Asif called the restoration of flights to Europe a
“major value addition” that will make the airline more attractive
to potential buyers.
PIA came into being in 1955 when the government nationalized a
loss-making commercial airline and it enjoyed rapid growth until
the 1990s.
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