Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar has said that the flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to the United Kingdom (UK) are likely to resume by October this year.

In his speech to a Senate session on Sunday, the minister said reforms were being made related to safety and regulation in line with international aviation standards.

“The legislation will pave the way for the final inspection in August, and then PIA flights to the UK are likely to resume in October,” he said.

In a meeting last month, Dar had instructed the relevant authorities to bring forward appropriate legislation as soon as possible to ensure quick resumption of PIA flights to the United States of America (USA) and the UK.

During the Senate session, Dar criticised over the previous government saying a statement from the then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan caused massive loss to the national carrier.

“PIA is currently facing a yearly loss of Rs71 billion,” he informed, highlighting that the airline had a revenue of Rs59 billion from its flight operations to the UK.

PIA landed in hot water when its flight PK-8303 crashed in Karachi on May 22, 2020, followed by an announcement by the former aviation minister of the grounding of 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan disclosed in the parliament that 150 pilots working for PIA had “dubious licences”.

On learning about the fake licences of the PIA pilots, the European Union Air Safety Agency suspended the PIA’s license for flights to European countries in July, 2020.

European Union ban on PIA flights comes into effect tonight

In December, 2022, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Aviation held the former aviation minister responsible for the financial woes of the national carrier and the ban by several countries, including the US and the UK.

“Even some of the Pakistani pilots associated with other airlines were grounded because of the former aviation minister’s statement,” Dar said on Sunday.

“The diaspora also faces difficulties in travelling due to the ban of PIA,” he added.

The incumbent government has brought reforms in the aviation laws/ordinances in an attempt to ensure effective service provision to improve the standards of the aviation sector in Pakistan to meet the international standards for the resumption of PIA flights to the USA, the UK, and Europe.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in June, 2023, formed a high-level committee to work out a plan to restructure and revive PIA.

During the outgoing week, the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation approved the Pakistan Civil Aviation Bill, 2023, and Pakistan Air Safety Investigation Bill, 2023, after some amendments.

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