EU rejects PIA appeal, extends flight ban to YE20

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has rejected an appeal by PIA – Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int’l) to resume flights to the bloc using its own aircraft, instead opting to extend the ban until at least December 31. The ban may still be extended further if the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PKCAA) fails to take measures to improve safety, the regulator warned. As previously reported, EASA prohibited PIA and Vision Air International (Pakistan) (VIS, Karachi Int’l) from entering European airspace, effective July 1, in the wake of the Pakistani fake pilot licence scandal. The United States instituted a similar ban. The flag carrier subsequently filed an appeal against EASA’s decision, which was initally a six-month ban on the carrier operating in Europe and the UK. PIA previously operated flights within the European Economic Area to Barcelona El Prat, Birmingham Int’l, Copenhagen Kastrup, London Heathrow, Manchester Int’l, Milan Malpensa, Oslo Gardermoen, and Paris CDG. However, Pakistan International Airlines has since agreed with Pegasus Airlines (PC, Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen) about resuming some of its European operations via Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen, sources told the financial daily Business Recorder on August 16. Under the agreement, PIA will take bookings and carry passengers to Turkey, from which Pegasus will take the passengers to their respective destinations. Fares would be comparable to those previously offered by PIA, the sources said. For now, however, Pakistan International Airlines has been wet-leasing capacity on an entirely ad-hoc basis, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed. Wamos Air (EB, Madrid Barajas) is scheduled to operate a return flight from Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int’l to Paris CDG on August 29, and Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int’l) will connect Islamabad with Birmingham on August 29 and Manchester on both August 30 and September 5. According to Business Recorder and the Pakistani television channel ARY News, the first of these ad-hoc flights took place on August 15, from Islamabad to Manchester and Paris.