Following grant of permission by the US Department of Transportation PIA will operate direct flights to America.

It is pertinent to mention here that after 9/11 PIA planes were made to stopover before going to US. According to details PIA will be allowed to operate twelve round-trip or one-way passenger or cargo flights. United States Department of Transportation will be informed by PIA in writing of the route it took for any passenger or cargo chartered flights no less than five business days after the operation.

For any passenger flight, which is headed to the US from a destination outside Pakistan, PIA will have to inform, in writing, the transportation department of the route it is taking three business days before the operation. If the airline chooses to operate or change the route of a flight less than three business days before its planned departure, it can request the department to waive off the requirement upon a showing of good cause.

PIA will have to obtain security clearance from Transportation Security Administration in case a flight heads to the US from an airport outside Pakistan. Furthermore, the aircraft flying to the US must have the authorization document issued by the transportation department. Moreover, PIA will have to comply with the rules and regulations set by other concerned US departments, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s standards.

The aircraft allowed to enter the US are: Boeing’s model B777-240LR, serial number 33781 (registration number AP-BGY); Boeing model B777-240LR, serial number 33782 (registration number AP-BGZ). Owing to security concerns, the US had not allowed any direct flight that originated from a Pakistani airport into its airspace. In October 2017, the PIA discontinued its flights to the US because of rising operational cost and in a bid to cut losses it had been facing.