PIA to remain on UK's air safety list, confirms transport department

• UK Civil Aviation Authority in contact with Pakistani authorities: spox.
• Development means Pakistani carriers cannot operate in UK.
• Ban was enforced in 2020 following fake pilot licence scandal.

LONDON: The UK Department for Transport confirmed on Tuesday that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would remain on the air safety list.

A spokesperson for the department said that the UK Civil Aviation Authority was in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding the issue.

The Department of Transport told Geo News: “All Pakistani air carriers remain on the UK Air Safety List. We are engaging with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, along with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, about their status on the list and there is a robust process to follow before airlines are delisted.”

The UK Air Safety List is the published list of countries and airlines that are subject to an operating ban on safety grounds and so cannot fly planes to, from or within the UK.

All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Pakistan are banned from operating commercial air services to, from, and within the United Kingdom, stated an official UK government website.  

Meanwhile, Pakistan government sources told Geo News that the UK air safety authority has postponed its decision regarding the lifting of restrictions on Pakistan's national carrier.

The authority was expected to announce its verdict on March 20 following an audit but later rescheduled it to March 25. However, the decision has now been further delayed.

The government insiders added that the postponement was linked to an incident involving a PIA aircraft, where a tire detached mid-flight.

The World Air Safety authorities and Airbus were investigating the matter. The decision would remain on hold until the probe is completed, they added.

Separately, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General Nadir Shafi Dar said that they had not received any written response on the PIA flight ban from the UK authorities.

In a statement, Dar said that the CAA was still awaiting a response from the British authorities.

A spokesperson for the national airline said that following the lifting of restrictions in Europe, Pakistan is now awaiting a "positive response" from the UK as well.

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.