By Farhan Bokhari
ISLAMABAD: As the government of the United Kingdom on Wednesday removed restrictions on Pakistani airlines flying to the UK, in an important lift to Pakistan’s overseas linkages, the decision appeared to be widely appreciated by public especially travel operators.
A Karachi based travel operator and member of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan Muhammad Naeem Sharif told Hum News: “I think this announcement will be welcomed by many passengers travelling from Pakistan to the UK as they prefer a direct flight”. He said, many passenger on the Pakistan to UK route will save costs and other expenses by comparison to traveling on airlines from the Middle East, requiring a change of flight.
The restrictions were imposed in 2020 over concerns on gaps in safety standards observed by Pakistan origin airlines. In the past, Pakistan’s government owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) led the air carriers from Pakistan for flights to the UK.
Additionally, private airlines such as Air Blue have also run past air services to the UK, which is home to more than 1.6 million individuals of Pakistani origin.
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Pakistan’s air services to the UK suffered a major setback after former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan in 2020 said publicly that around 40 per cent of Pakistan’s pilots were flying with fake licences, or at least 262 pilots from among 860 Pakistan’s commercial pilots.
Concerns over flight safety standards also grew in 2020 when a PIA flight crashed while landing in Karachi, causing the deaths of 97 of its 99 passengers and crew members on board. Together, the matter of claims of fake flying licences and the 2020 air crash triggered a ban by the UK’s civil aviation authority on PIA from flying to the UK.
A senior government official in Islamabad who spoke to Hum News on condition that he will not be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said removal of the UK ban will further improve the chances of PIA’s privatisation. “The annual revenue for PIA will rise in a big way through flights to the UK. This will be a big plus for future investors in PIA” he said.