The US Embassy in Islamabad has issued travel guidelines for US citizens, saying that US citizens in Pakistan should not travel to the US through Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) or any Pakistani airline.

US embassy and consulate officials should not travel to the United States on any Pakistani airline, read the guidelines.

The US Embassy further said that under the International Aviation Safety Program, Pakistani Airlines has been ranked second in terms of travel.

Pakistan has been included in the second tier due to non-compliance with ICAO safety standards, while airlines of the second tier countries cannot start new service to the United States.

It is pertinent to mention, that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has also suspended Pakistan International Airlines’ authorization to fly to the bloc for six months.

The national airline was marred with scandals after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced the grounding of 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams, a move that caused global concern.