A team from the UK Civil Aviation Authority has flown to Karachi International to conduct a safety audit before deciding whether to allow Pakistani carriers to resume flights to UK airports, the Urdu-language ARY News reported. The green light would primarily benefit PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International), which is keen to restart flights there and pick up the hard currency revenues from ticket sales.
Following a series of incidents, including a fake pilot licence scandal and the crash of a PIA A320-200 near Karachi airport that killed 98 people, the US, UK, and EU all blacklisted Pakistani airlines from operating scheduled services to their airports. The decision cost PIA approximately PKR84 billion rupees (USD301 million) in foregone revenue annually in revenues. Much of that money was in the form of badly needed hard currency from ticket sales in those markets. The financial hit is cited as one reason for PIA's ongoing losses.
In December 2024, the EU lifted its flight ban, and PIA swiftly resumed flights to Paris CDG. The UK CAA frequently aligns with EU decisions, and PIA is keen to fly to London Heathrow, Manchester International, and Birmingham, GB from Islamabad International and Lahore International.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar recently said resuming flights would help the airline recoup these revenue flows and better position it for privatisation. Earlier this month, he told Pakistan's parliament that the government was hoping for a decision from the UK by March or April 2025 and PIA flights there could resume shortly afterwards. He also said that once this happens, PIA and the government would work on restarting flights to the United States.
