ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has secured long-awaited approval to restart operations in the United Kingdom, nearly four years after being grounded over safety concerns.
In a statement released Wednesday, the national flag carrier confirmed it has been granted the Third Country Operator (TCO) certification, allowing it to resume direct passenger and cargo services to the UK as early as next month.
The breakthrough comes just weeks after Britain officially removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List in July, clearing the way for Pakistani carriers to reapply for UK flight operations. The British High Commission in Islamabad said the decision reflected confidence in Pakistan’s recent aviation reforms.
PIA, burdened with heavy debt, was banned from flying to the European Union, the UK, and the United States in June 2020 following a fatal crash of an Airbus A320 in Karachi’s Model Colony that killed nearly 100 people. The European ban was lifted last year, but UK skies had remained closed to the airline until now.
According to the airline, flights will first resume to Manchester, with Birmingham and London to follow in subsequent phases. On the same day as the approval, the UK Department for Transport also issued PIA its Security and Cargo ACC3 certifications, valid for five years. The airline described these endorsements as “a strong vote of confidence in PIA’s safety and operational standards.”
In a post on X, PIA thanked the prime minister, foreign minister, defence ministry, and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for supporting its case with international regulators.
The 2020 grounding had followed revelations that more than 260 Pakistani pilots were suspected of holding dubious licences, sparking global scrutiny of the country’s aviation safety standards. While those concerns tarnished PIA’s image internationally, officials now believe the resumption of flights to the UK marks the beginning of a new chapter for the struggling carrier.
