Islamabad, 24 July, 2023 (GNP): The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has cleared the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in its remote audit which took off another barrier in the restoration of PIA’s flight operations to European land.
As per sources, the EASA recently conducted an online audit of the PIA.
The European agency has planned to visit Pakistan in September to carry out a physical audit of the Civil Aviation Authority and the PIA. PIA’s flights to Europe will be resumed after the final audit is successful.
The restarting of flight operations in Europe will greatly benefit the PIA as it’s been three years since the national flag carrier was banned from flying to European states. PIA flights in Europe were banned in June 2022 after the exposure of fake degrees of pilots in the airline.
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However, the government of Pakistan’s recent decision of the aviation law amendment seems to be a clear response to the demand of the European Union to address the loopholes resulting in the halt of flight operations to Europe and other landing places as a result of the fake pilot license scandal of 2020.
Moreover, the government came under pressure from the EU and decided to pass two laws, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Act, 2023, and the Pakistan Airports Authority Act, 2023, so that the national flag carrier could soon resume its flights to Europe and other destinations, sources said.