Staff Reporter
Islamabad
European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has refused to allow the operation of PIA flights without the safety audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), sources said on Sunday.
Replying to Pakistan International Airlines’ letter, the EASA rejected the request for partial permission to carry out flights.
The sources say there is no likelihood that the national flag carrier’s state of affairs will improve anytime soon. Resultantly, the ban on PIA flights to Europe and UK will remain in place. The PIA had written to EASA following EASA expressed its satisfaction over the airlines’ audit. In the letter, the PIA CEO had asked for the airlines’ audit independent of CAA. The sources add EASA wants reforms in CAA’s mode of issuing licences. The PIA management has confirmed that it has received a reply from the EASA.
In the response, the EASA letter says: “Regarding the lack of confidence in certification and oversight activities performed by the Pakistani CAA, which was the second aspect that led to the suspension of Third Country Operator Authorisation, the investigation performed by the European Commission and by the ICAO have not yet been concluded.
