PIA decides to not appeal EU flight ban

(Karachi) Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided that it will not appeal against a six-month ban imposed on its flights to various destinations in Europe, media reported on Friday. The deadline to appeal expired on August 31.

In June, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had banned the national flag carrier from flying to European locations over safety concerns. The EASA took the initiative days after PIA grounded several pilots over "dubious qualifications licenses" and in view of the PIA Airbus crash incident on May 22.

A letter issued to PIA from EASA stated, “There are strong indications that a high number of Pakistani pilots’ licences are invalid.” It added, “PIA persists in failing to demonstrate compliance with the applicable standards.”

Civil Aviation officials said that an appeal against the ban at this stage will not prove successful till the time investigation into the pilots' scandal are completed.

On June 24, Aviation Minister Chaudhry Sarwar told the parliament that 262 out of 860 pilot licences issued by the Civil Aviation Authority were fraudulent. More than half were held by pilots employed at PIA, though the airline said that 36 of the pilots no longer worked for the airline.