Pakistan International Airlines resumes EU flights after four-year hiatus

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Pakistan International Airlines resumes EU flights after four-year hiatus

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By Sky Industry News

Jan 10, 2025

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed flights to the European Union, with its first flight since a 2020 ban taking off from Islamabad to Paris on January 10. The Boeing 777-200ER, registered as AP-BGK, marked the airline's return to European skies by departing from Islamabad International Airport and landing at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.

The occasion was celebrated with a statement from PIA: “Today, PIA proudly resumes its journey to Europe with the inaugural flight PK-749 from Islamabad to Paris, inaugurated by Chief Guest Khawaja Muhammad Asif. A momentous occasion celebrated in collaboration with Pakistan Post, as a special cancellation featuring the flight number was issued – a first in Pakistan’s philatelic history!”

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) added PIA to its authorized third-country operators list on November 29, 2024. This decision came after PIA demonstrated compliance with international safety requirements.

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Despite this progress in Europe, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Administration has not yet allowed PIA to resume flights to the UK. Representatives of the UK's Department for Transport are expected to visit Pakistan in mid-January before potentially lifting the ban that has been in place since June 2020.

When banned by EASA and subsequently by the UK CAA, PIA continued marketing flights using chartered services provided by Hi Fly until November 2022. Prior to these bans, PIA operated several routes across Europe and the UK.

The initial ban on PIA followed a scandal involving pilot licenses. In June 2020, it was revealed that many pilots had fake licenses or had cheated during exams. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, then Federal Minister for Aviation of Pakistan, reported that over 260 of Pakistan's active commercial pilot licenses were either fake or obtained through cheating. A spokesperson for PIA confirmed that about 150 out of its 434 pilots had suspicious licenses.