Hi Fly to bring back stranded Pakistanis from Europe

The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will be using the services of Hi Fly, a European charter airline to bring back stranded Pakistanis from Europe.

As per the media reports, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has permitted Hi Fly to operate special flights to Pakistan. Under the permit, the flight will leave Islamabad for Paris on July 22 will reach Islamabad on July 23 with 250 passengers.

The flights are reportedly priced at €800 or $915.

On July 1, the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) issued a six-month ban on all PIA flights to Europe. The United Kingdom and the USA followed suit imposing a ban on all PIA flights. Many international airlines worldwide have grounded Pakistani pilots.

The current ban comes in the aftermath of an inquiry report regarding the crash of PIA flight 8303, operated by Airbus A320. In June, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar stated that 260 of 860 Pakistani pilots, including 141 PIA pilots, never sat for the exams and that their licenses were fake.

PIA operated regular flights to various destinations in the UK and Europe before the ban was placed. The week before the ban the national airline operated 23 flights to the UK, including ten flights to London, nine to Manchester, and four to Birmingham, whereas six flights went to different destinations in Europe.