Pakistan hopes to resume PIA flights to UK in three months

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan hopes its national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) can resume flights to Britain in the next three months, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Friday.

Rafique made the announcement in parliament, saying new legislation this week had removed the last hurdle for the national carrier to fly to the United Kingdom.

“God willing, the PIA flights will resume at least to the UK in three months, and, later, flights to Europe and America will resume,” he said.

PIA’s flights to Europe and England were suspended after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) revoked the national carrier’s authorisation to fly to the bloc in 2020 following a fake pilot scandal in the South Asian nation.