The UK has lifted restrictions on Pakistani airlines, the British High Commission in Islamabad said on Wednesday, ending a five-year ban on the country's national carrier.
The UK Air Safety Committee had decided to lift the ban following aviation safety improvements in Pakistan, the British High Commission in Islamabad said, adding that decisions on de-listing states and air carriers were made "through an independent aviation safety process.”
The ban was imposed in 2020, days after Pakistan launched an investigation into the validity of pilot licenses issued in the country following a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash that killed 97 people.
"Based on this independent and technically driven process, it has decided to remove Pakistan and its air carriers from the (UK Air Safety) List," the UK Air Safety Committee said in a statement.
The move comes after European regulators lifted a four-year ban on PIA, with the Pakistani state-owned carrier resuming flights to Europe in January.
Source of relief
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the lifting of the ban as "an important milestone for the country.”
"The lifting of the ban on Pakistani flights by the UK is a source of relief for Pakistanis residing in Britain," he added in a statement.
PIA said it would resume services to Britain in "the shortest possible time," with the first flights operating from Islamabad to Manchester.
PIA had previously estimated an annual revenue loss of around 40 billion rupees ($144 million) due to the ban.
The airline has long considered UK routes, including London, Manchester, and Birmingham, among its most profitable. It holds sought-after landing slots at London's Heathrow Airport that could become active again.
PIA's spokesperson said the airline was finalising preparations to resume UK flights "in the shortest possible time" and had submitted its proposed schedule.
Flights would resume on the Islamabad-Manchester route, with three weekly flights initially planned, pending schedule approval, the spokesperson added.
Privatisation push
Earlier this month, Pakistan approved four groups to bid for a 51-100 percent stake in PIA. Final bids are expected later this year.
The government is hoping that recent reforms, which led to the airline's first operating profit in 21 years, will help attract buyers under a broader IMF-backed privatisation push.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who also holds a supplementary portfolio as Aviation Minister, told a press conference that the resumption of all routes would improve PIA's value ahead of the privatisation.
He also stated that there were plans to resume flights to New York. Khawaja acknowledged the ban had caused losses.
"Confidence is being restored in Pakistani airlines once again," he said at a news conference in Islamabad.
PIA employs over 7,000 people.
PIA came into being in 1955 when the government nationalised a loss-making commercial airline and enjoyed rapid growth until the 1990s.
