UK lifts ban on Pakistani airlines after five years

Ban was put in place over safety concerns after crash in Karachi killed nearly 100 people

A Pakistan International Airline aircraft preparing to take off for Paris in January. AFP

Britain has lifted a ban on Pakistani airlines following improvements in the country’s aviation safety standards, the UK's diplomatic mission in Islamabad said on Wednesday.

The UK’s Air Safety Committee imposed the ban after Pakistan’s aviation minister disclosed in June 2020 that nearly one-third of the country’s pilots had cheated in their licence exams.

The claim came after a Pakistan International Airlines crash killed 97 people on May 22, 2020, in the southern city of Karachi. The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control

Wednesday’s announcement follows a broader international recognition of Pakistan’s efforts to improve air safety. Earlier this year, Pakistan International Airlines, the national flag carrier, resumed direct flights to Europe after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted its four-year ban.

The airline said it would resume services to Britain in “the shortest possible time” and the first flights would operate from Islamabad to Manchester.

British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said that after “extensive engagement” between the UK’s Air Safety Committee and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, restrictions on Pakistani airlines have been lifted.

Wreckage of a passenger plane crash near an airport in Karachi, Pakistan on May 22, 2020, in which almost 100 people died. Getty Images

Ms Marriott said individual airlines will still need to apply for operating permits from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

“I’m grateful to aviation experts in both the UK and Pakistan for their collaborative work to meet international safety standards,” she said. “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.”

The high commission emphasised that decisions on removing countries or carriers from the UK Air Safety List are made through an independent safety process overseen by the Air Safety Committee.

With more than 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK and thousands of British nationals living in Pakistan, the move will help families to reconnect and potentially boost bilateral trade ties, it said.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif welcomed the decision. Speaking at a televised news conference on Wednesday, he attributed the ban to “baseless” remarks by former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

Mr Asif said the claim tarnished the country’s image and triggered significant financial losses for Pakistan International Airlines.