KARACHI: The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has concluded a weeklong assessment of Pakistan’s aviation safety system in Karachi, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said on Friday, a review that Islamabad hopes will pave the way for the resumption of direct flights to America after five years.

The audit, conducted with the PCAA, examined Pakistan’s legal, regulatory and operational framework. The FAA delegation will now return to Washington to deliberate on its findings before issuing a formal outcome.

“While the outcome of this assessment cannot yet be predicted, the track record of DG CAA Nadir Shafi Dar and his team — particularly their success in restoring direct routes to the European Union and the United Kingdom — provides reason for cautious optimism,” the PCAA said in a statement.

The five-member FAA delegation, accompanied by officials from the US Embassy, held extensive discussions with PCAA counterparts during the week. The review included verification of regulatory documents, evaluations of safety oversight mechanisms and briefings on compliance with international standards.

A second FAA team is expected later this year to evaluate airport and airspace security protocols in Pakistan.

The visit is part of Pakistan’s bid to regain access to the US market, from which national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been barred since June 2020. The ban followed a deadly Karachi plane crash that killed nearly 100 people and a subsequent scandal over fake pilot licenses.

Earlier this year, European and British regulators lifted their restrictions on PIA after nearly five years, allowing the airline to resume flights to those markets. 

A favorable outcome by the FAA could restore PIA’s US routes, reducing travel times for the nearly 700,000 Pakistani expatriates living in America and boosting confidence in the country’s aviation sector.

Muhammad Umair, a Karachi-based aviation analyst, told Arab News earlier this week that the FAA visit marked “the first major step” toward restoring the routes but warned the process could take months.

“They will review all safety and security protocols, identify any gaps, and ask the Pakistani authorities to address them,” he said.