The Pakistan International Airline remained on the United Kingdom’s (UK) air safety list as the Department for Transport upheld existing restrictions.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said that the UK Civil Aviation Authority was in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding the issue.
“Airlines must go through a rigorous procedure to have restrictions lifted,” the spokesperson added.
Last week, it was reported that the ban on the national carrier on flying to Britain is likely to be lifted soon as the British Air Safety Committee concluded an important meeting on the matter.
The ban was enforced in July 2020 by the UK and European aviation authorities following the fake pilot licence scandal. However, Pakistani authorities remained hopeful that the restrictions would be lifted following tomorrow’s review.
In 2020, during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government, then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that pilots were operating planes with fake licences.
This was his response after PIA’s Airbus A-320s plunged into a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.
Following this, the debt-ridden PIA was banned from flying to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The ban cost the loss-making airline Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in revenue.
In January 2025, after a years-long hiatus, the PIA operated its first direct flight from Islamabad to Paris, resuming its long-awaited flights to Europe.
Eyeing UK operations, PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said that once cleared by the DfT, London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations.
PIA has 23% of Pakistan’s domestic aviation market, but its 34-plane fleet cannot compete with Middle Eastern carriers, which have 60%, due to a lack of direct flights, despite having agreements with 87 countries and key landing slots.
