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The United States (US) has given a year permit to Pakistan International Airline (PIA) for direct flights operations to New York and Washington DC.

According to details, PIA, which had stopped its operations to the US in October 2017, used to operate flights to the USA with a mandatory stopover on TSA cleared airports in UK or Europe for security clearance. This is the first time that PIA has been allowed to operate direct flights. The direct flights authorization comes after a series of TSA team visits to Pakistan examining preparedness of the country's airports and overall airline's security apparatus and procedures.

PIA has been granted a special permission to operate direct flights to the US to repatriate stranded citizens, PIA spokesman confirmed and added that it would be the first occasion whereby PIA has been allowed to operate non-stop across the Atlantic. PIA has been allowed to operate 12 direct flights to the US in a year time frame starting from 29 April 2020.

An authorization letter has been issued by the Department of Transport with clearance from the US Department of Transportation as Special Permission, he said.

CEO PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik had earlier formally requested US Authorities for operating repatriation flights directly to the US.

This came after exhaustive back channel work by the PIA management, involving the highest levels of the government, foreign offices and diplomatic missions and showed a warming relationship between the Trump administration and PM Imran Khan.

The permission also highlighted that the US government supported Pakistan to airlift its stranded Pakistani citizens in the US, he said and added that the MOFA & US diplomatic mission in Pakistan played a pivotal role in this matter.

Meanwhile, CEO PIA Air Marshal Arshad Malik expressed deepest gratitude to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan whose personal interest was fundamental in getting this coordination done and also the Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and officials of Foreign Ministry in making this extraordinary feat possible.

He also reiterated his stance that PIA will always make all efforts to serve this great nation and will leave no stone unturned to fulfill its obligation towards national service, including bringing home all the stranded citizens abroad. He also said that PIA will transport the human remains of deceased Pakistanis free of cost.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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