ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced on Thursday (25th Dec, 2025) that direct flights to London will commence from March 2026.
Following receipt of 3rd Country Operator (TCO) approval on 24th Sept, PIA was all set to apply to operate flights to London and Manchester in order to return to British skies in the month of October.
One may recall that a seven-member committee had been formed to figure out how much the country lost due to former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Awan Khan’s statement (apropos 262 active Pak pilots’ fake licenses) given on the floor of the National Assembly during a Parliamentary session back in 2020.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan had accused Pakistani pilots of holding fake licenses or cheating in the exams. This statement transformed into a joke and even channels like CNN contributed towards making it viral. The said committee was supposed to assess the financial losses incurred by the national exchequer due to the irresponsible statement by then aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan back in 2020.
The committee comprising the Defense, Law, Finance Ministers and their secretaries, CEO of PIA and the DG of CAA were supposed to present its report within 4 weeks. Due to his statement 109 commercial and 153 transport airline pilots were grounded. Licenses of 141 PIA pilots, nine Air Blue pilots, 10 Serene Airlines pilots, and 17 Shaheen Airlines pilots were scrutinized. Then, an over-smart PIA pilot crashed the aircraft over houses in Malir killing a hundred people.
As a result EASA banned the national carrier from routes in Europe and UK, costing PIA a loss of Rs. 40 billion per year. EASA had also issued TCO authorisation to Airblue. Following the lifting of ban imposed on PIA by EC and EASA, the national-flag carrier commenced operations to Europe.
A Boeing 777, livery of which shows Pakistani flag, harboring 330 voyagers and 14 crew members, took off from IIAP at 12.10 pm on 10th Jan 2025 to Paris after a 54-month hiatus.
Newspakistan.tv
