Pakistan’s aviation authority delegation in Brussels to discuss possibility of lifting EU flight ban

KARACHI: A team of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has reached Brussels to attend a technical meeting on Tuesday after it was invited by the European Commission to discuss the possibility of lifting a flight ban to the continent in the coming months. 
Pakistan said earlier in October it was hopeful for the revival of flight operations to European destinations by April after the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) said it was working with the country to “rebuild confidence in the certification and oversight capabilities.” 
Flights operated by Pakistani airlines, including its national flag carrier, were banned in Europe after a passenger plane crashed on a densely populated neighborhood in Karachi in May 2020. Soon after the tragic incident, the country’s former aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, announced the decision to ground 262 airline pilots for “dubious licenses.” 
“The European Commission has invited PCAA for a technical meeting in Brussels on October 25,” said an official statement circulated on Monday. “The meeting has been called to discuss and learn about measures taken by PCAA after ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] audit. The meeting will be followed by visit of the EC team to Pakistan in the first quarter of 2023, a prerequisite for the Pakistani airline to start flights to Europe.” 
The EASA refused to lift the ban earlier this year while citing an audit by the ICAO which referred to serious degradation of the PCAA certification and oversight capabilities. 
A spokesperson of Pakistan’s aviation authority, Saifullah Khan, recently told Arab News its officials were hopeful the matters would be resolved by April. 
“The process of verification is underway and it takes [time],” he said. “In the last stage, the European Union will visit Pakistan, which is being scheduled.” 
He said the EC team intended to visit Pakistan in the beginning of the next year after the EASA audit of Pakistan International Airlines was done. 
The Pakistani PCAA team reached Brussels on Sunday and includes all relevant directors of the agency.