Pakistan’s state-run airline to resume flights to Europe in January after EU agency lifted ban

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s state-run airline says it is preparing to resume direct flights to European countries early next month. European Union’s aviation safety agency has lifted a ban on Pakistan International Airlines flying to Europe over compliance with its safety standards. The ban on PIA by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had been in place since 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province. The ban was causing a loss of nearly $150 million a year in revenue to PIA, officials say. Airline spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said after more than four years the first direct flight from the capital Islamabad to Paris will resume in early January.