Kuwait, Jazeera Airways: PCAA decides to revoke one weekly frequency authorisation

KARACHI: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has decided to revoke the authorisation of frequency each of Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways to/from Pakistan from October 01, 2021, in response to the non-approval to the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate flight operations to/from Kuwait.

According to the details, the PIA has requested the Kuwaiti Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to grant permission to resume its flight operations to/from Kuwait.

However, the Kuwaiti authorities have declined the request. Later, the issue has been taken up by the PCAA, which wrote a letter to the KCAA, asking to allow PIA to resume its flights to and from Kuwait which were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PCAA was of the view that Kuwaiti authorities should allow the PIA to resume its flight operation to and from Kuwait in response to the facilitation extended to Kuwaiti airlines despite the Covid-19 challenges.

PCAA termed the non-approval of PIA flight operations to and from Kuwait as a violation of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between our two States and warned the KCAA to initiate similar action for Kuwaiti designated airlines’ flight operations to and from Pakistan by October 1, 2021. However, Pakistani flights have not been allowed in Kuwait despite repeated requests.

Consequently, Pakistan CAA has decided to revoke the authorisation of one weekly frequency each of Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways to/from Pakistan by October 01, 2021.

PCAA spokesman Saifullah said that in light of the non-approval of the national air carrier’s flight operations to/from Kuwait, the spirit of commercial reciprocity and mutual cooperation could not be maintained hence the authorisation of one weekly frequency each of Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways to/from Pakistan was being revoked from October 01, 2021.

Furthermore, he said that Pakistan CAA had again requested the KCAA to approve flight operations of PIA to/from Kuwait in accordance with the terms envisaged in the Air Services Agreement between Pakistan and Kuwait and added that authority would initiate further regulatory action in case of further delay in the approval of the flight requests submitted by PIA.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021