Britain has officially removed its restrictions on Pakistani airlines, ending a five-year ban that had prevented Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from operating flights to the UK.
The British High Commission in Islamabad announced the decision on Wednesday, citing significant improvements in Pakistan’s aviation safety standards.
The ban, imposed in June 2020, followed a tragic PIA crash in Karachi that killed nearly 100 people. Investigations attributed the disaster to human error, which was compounded by later allegations that a substantial portion of PIA pilots held fake or questionable licenses.
The UK Air Safety Committee’s decision to lift the ban was based on “an independent and technically driven process” that concluded Pakistan and its air carriers met the necessary safety requirements.
This move mirrors a similar decision by European regulators, who lifted their four-year ban on PIA earlier, allowing the state-owned airline to resume European flights in January.
PIA, which employs 7,000 people, has faced long-standing accusations of being overstaffed and mismanaged, struggling with debt, having a poor safety record, and facing regulatory challenges.
The Pakistani government has committed to privatising the financially troubled airline and is actively seeking a buyer, although a potential deal in 2024 collapsed when a buyer reportedly offered a significantly lower price than requested.
PIA was established in 1955 when the government nationalised a struggling commercial airline and experienced rapid growth until the 1990s.
