ISLAMABAD: The dawn of Friday (Jan 10, 2025) brings a moment of pride for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as its ‘big bird’ is set to sail in the skies for the first direct flight to a European country after a hiatus of more than four years.
The PIA flight will take off for Paris with its near optimum passenger capacity.
KHAWAJA ASIF CUT RIBBON
Federal Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif, accompanied by French Embassy staff, cut the ribbon to mark the celebratory event at the Islamabad airport.
PIA CEO Amir Hayat, Airport Manager Aftab Gilani, aviation secretary, and CAA director general were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Asif recalled the glory days of PIA – a time when it would train foreign airlines. It’s unfortunate, he said, the PIA nosedived and was now in immense deficit.
He said the statement of a former aviation minister on the floor of National Assembly cost PIA dear. He said there’s no accountability in the country.
A ban on direct flights to and from Europeans destinations remained in place for four and a half years and people had to fly through detours of Dubai, Doha and Abu Zehbi.
The minister said Jan 10 was a historic day as PIA’s first direct flight to Paris after resumption of route was set to take off. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif endeavoured to have the ban removed and many people worked day in and day out to make it possible.
He said efforts were being made to arrange direct flights to the UK and USA destinations soon. He expressed hope that the PIA would regain its glory and become an envy of the world.
ISLAMABAD AIRPORT ABUZZ WITH PREPARATIONS
There is quite a buzz at the New Islamabad International Airport from where PIA’s first flight to Europe after resumption of route will take off on Friday.
Arrangements have been finalised for PIA’s flight to Paris and a Boeing 777 aircraft will take off from the Islamabad airport.
Officials said the booking for the flight began on Dec 7 and almost all seats had been booked.
According to the PIA spokesperson, almost all economy class tickets of the two-way flight between Pakistan and Paris have been sold.
The spokesperson said the aircraft had a total capacity of 323 passengers, and only 11 executive economy seats were left to be filled on the first flight.
Similarly, the spokesperson said, about 85 per cent of the tickets for next week’s flights had been sold out, with only few executive economy seats yet to be confirmed.
He said there was a great demand for direct flights from Pakistan to Europe.
EUROPE ROUTE BAN LIFTED
The resumption of PIA’s direct flight to European destinations became possible after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifted ban which had been in place since 2020.
PIA announced its decision to resume flights to Paris in a statement on its Facebook account: “We are thrilled to announce that EASA has officially lifted the ban on Pakistan International Airlines, which is a significant milestone enabling the airline to resume flights to Europe.”
The EU aviation regulator withdrew PIA’s permission to operate in the region after Pakistan began probing a scandal over the validity of pilots’ licences in the aftermath of a plane crash that killed 97 people in Karachi.
According to a Reuters report, the PIA will approach Britain’s Department for Transport (DfT) for permission to resume routes to the UK.
Once cleared by the DfT, he said, London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be priority destinations.
The ban caused a loss of nearly $150 million a year to PIA, officials say.
Airline spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said that after more than four years the first direct flight from the capital Islamabad to Paris would resume.
He said EUASA had expressed “complete satisfaction over the safety standards of PIA” and that arrangements were under way to resume PIA’s flights to other cities in the European countries.
