Pakistan’s national carrier on Wednesday inched closer to resuming flights to the UK after London removed the ban imposed on PIA due to air safety concerns.

“Following air safety improvements, the UK’s Air Safety Committee has lifted UK restrictions on Pakistani carriers. Individual airline carriers will still need to apply for permits to operate to the UK through the UK Civil Aviation Authority," the British High Commission said here in a statement.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was banned from operating in EU countries and the UK after the 2020 air crash, followed by a scandal about the licensing of Pakistani pilots.

While the EU lifted the ban last year and formal operations began in January this year, the UK authorities were still not allowing Pakistani airlines to operate due to safety concerns.

The latest announcement by the UK authorities means that “all Pakistani airlines can now apply to operate flights to the UK," the statement said.

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott said that she was grateful to aviation experts in the UK and Pakistan for their collaborative work to meet international safety standards.

According to the British High Commission, decisions on de-listing states and air carriers from the UK Air Safety List are made through an independent aviation safety process overseen by the UK’s Air Safety Committee.

“The Committee has judged that necessary safety improvements have been made since its original decision in 2021. Therefore, based on this independent and technically-driven process, it has decided to remove Pakistan and its air carriers from the List,” the statement added.

“While it will take time for flights to resume, once the logistics are in place, I look forward to using a Pakistani carrier when visiting family and friends,” Marriott said.

With over 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK and thousands of British nationals in Pakistan, the announcement brings opportunities to make it easier for families to reunite, it added.

The UK is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, with a bilateral relationship worth GBP 4.7 billion. Any ease in travel between both countries will help this important trade relationship to thrive, it said.

The development comes as Pakistan is trying to sell the PIA this year after its effort to offload the majority stakes in the airline failed as no serious offer was made by the buyers. The government already short-listed at least four parties for the privatisation of the airline.

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