KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended its flights to Canada from this month, the airline said on Saturday, citing ‘necessary maintenance’ of its aircraft.

The step was taken for the maintenance of the PIA’s Boeing 777 long-range aircraft, which cross the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Pakistani flag carrier.

These aircraft are capable of flying continuously for 17 hours without stopping.

“The two long-range aircraft will undergo a three-week technical inspection and replacement of parts, which is inevitable after every ten years,” PIA said in a statement.

“The aim of the aircraft repairs at this time is to fully prepare them before the expected passenger rush in the coming month.”

The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused to its passengers but said their safety and complete fitness of the aircraft was its top priority.

Last month, PIA announced it would be scaling back operations to France by suspending its Lahore–Paris flights in mid-September, adding the move was linked to planned resumption of services to the United Kingdom (UK).

PIA resumed flights to Europe in January after a four-and-a-half-year ban on the airline was lifted by European regulators. The airline had begun two weekly flights between Lahore and Paris on June 18.

“The Lahore–Paris route is not being permanently closed but has been temporarily suspended to prioritize operations to the United Kingdom (UK) as passenger demand is currently low during the lean season,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said, adding the airline is expected to resume UK flight operations by mid-October.

Debt-ridden PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a residential neighborhood in Karachi, killing nearly 100 people.

The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the PIA pilot licenses were fake or dubious.

In Nov. last year, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) announced lifting the ban on PIA, while the UK removed Pakistan from its ‘Air Safety List’ on July 16, paving the way for Pakistani airlines to apply for permits to resume UK flights.

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