The United Kingdom on Wednesday removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, thereby allowing Pakistani airlines to now apply to operate flights to the UK, according to a statement from the British High Commission in Islamabad.
Debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was banned from flying to the European Union, UK and the United States in June 2020, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into Karachi’s Model Colony, killing nearly 100 people. The ban on operating to Europe was lifted in November last year.
Today’s development comes after a team from the UK Department for Transport concluded an aviation security inspection at Islamabad International Airport on Thursday, declaring Pakistan’s security arrangements “satisfactory and in line with international standards”.
“Following air safety improvements, the UK’s Air Safety Committee has lifted UK restrictions on Pakistani carriers,” said a statement from the British High Commission.
“Individual airline carriers will still need to apply for permits to operate to the UK through the UK Civil Aviation Authority.”
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott was quoted as saying: “I’m grateful to aviation experts in the UK and Pakistan for their collaborative work to drive improvements to meet international safety standards.
“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.”
Decisions on de-listing states and air carriers from the UK Air Safety List are made through an independent aviation safety process, according to the statement.
“This is overseen by the UK’s Air Safety Committee, who have [sic] been closely engaging with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority over several years.
“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.”
Reacting to today’s development, Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif commended the government led by his party for “crossing another milestone”. “Three years of continuous hard work have borne fruit,” he said on X.
He assailed ex-premier Imran Khan and then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar, who had said after the 2020 crash that almost 40 per cent of the country’s pilots had fake licenses.
“But today, the green crescent flag is once again soaring proudly in the skies,” Asif added, commending his aviation ministry for its efforts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also hailed the move, saying that the move will provide “ease in travel between the UK and Pakistan will help this vital trade relationship grow manifold.”
“With over 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK and thousands of British nationals in Pakistan, today’s announcement brings long-awaited relief and new opportunities for families and friends to reunite,” he wrote on X. “As Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, this ease in travel between the UK and Pakistan will help this vital trade relationship grow manifold.
The move adds to another positive development, with the UK government yesterday launching e-visas for Pakistani students and workers as part of an “enhanced” border and immigration system.
A day prior to that, the two countries formally signed the Trade Dialogue Mechanism Agreement and decided to establish the UK-Pakistan Business Advisory Council to institutionalise bilateral economic cooperation.