Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed its European operations after over four years, with its first direct flight to Paris departing from Islamabad on Friday.
A ceremony at the airport was attended by Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif, PIA’s acting CEO, and other officials. The minister called it a historic day for the government, PIA, and the Civil Aviation Authority, acknowledging the hard work that led to this achievement.
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Khawaja Asif thanked everyone involved in making direct flights possible and noted that overseas Pakistanis previously faced expensive travel through Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. He criticized a past statement by former Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar, blaming it for the prolonged suspension of direct flights and stressing the lack of accountability for such decisions.
He announced plans to soon launch flights to the UK and the USA and recalled PIA’s former status as a leading global airline.
Reports indicated that Pakistani officials would welcome passengers upon arrival in Paris. Before the ban, PIA operated flights to cities like Barcelona, Birmingham, Bradford, and London. The airline now aims to restart flights to Copenhagen, Oslo, and Amsterdam to rebuild its European network.
Additionally, PIA plans to resume flights to New York, pending U.S. approval, and has allocated six Boeing 777s for operations to Europe, the UK, and the U.S. This milestone follows the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifting its 2020 ban on Pakistani airlines due to improved safety standards, marking significant progress for Pakistan’s aviation industry.
