The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for operating in its member states for six months.
The decision will take effect from 1 July 2020 following which Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights will be banned from operating in European countries.
The decision comes after Pakistan Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed that a third of Pakistani pilots carried ‘dubious’ licenses raising concerns not just in Pakistan but all around the world.
Read more: PIA grounds 150 pilots for processing suspicious or fake licenses.
EASA says it is not satisfied with the airline for failure to implement its safety management system as PIA claimed it would be completed in three to four months however there are no guarantees.
Even though PIA was working with the EASA to address its concerns, the organization said that it does not mitigate the fact that over a third of Pakistani pilots have invalid licenses and a big chunk of them belong to the national carrier.
PIA spokesperson said that they hope for the suspension to be lifted soon and in the mean time those wo have already obtained tickets can either change their travel dates accordingly or get a full refund.
For now EASA states that it may extend its ban for another 3 months following the conclusion of the three months suspension being placed starting 1 July 2020.
According to sources, PIA will loose over 7.2 billion during six months and more if the suspension is extended. There are 26 weekly flights currently operated by the airline to different European destinations earning over 300 million weekly.
Read more: PEMRA issues show-cause notice to media channels for airing fake news.
