Britain Ends 5-Year Ban On Pakistani Airlines

Britain has lifted restrictions on Pakistani airlines, the UK embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday, ending a five-year ban on the country's beleaguered national carrier.

Flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines was barred from flying to Britain in June 2020, a month after one of its aircraft plunged into a Karachi street, 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 licences for its pilots were fake or dubious.

The UK Air Safety Committee had decided to lift the ban following aviation safety improvements in Pakistan, the British High Commission in Islamabad said, adding that decisions on de-listing states and air carriers were made "through an independent aviation safety process".

"Based on this independent and technically-driven process, it has decided to remove Pakistan and its air carriers from the (UK Air Safety) List," it said in a statement.

The move comes after European regulators lifted a four-year ban on PIA, with the Pakistani state-owned carrier resuming flights to Europe in January.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the lifting of the ban as "an important milestone for the country".

"The lifting of the ban on Pakistani flights by the UK is a source of relief for Pakistanis residing in Britain," he added in a statement.

PIA said it would resume services to Britain in "the shortest possible time" with the first flights operating from Islamabad to Manchester.

Aviation minister Khawaja Asif acknowledged the ban had caused losses.

"Confidence is being restored in Pakistani airlines once again," he said at a news conference in Islamabad.

PIA, which employs 7,000 people, has long been accused of being bloated and poorly run -- hobbled by unpaid bills, a poor safety record and regulatory issues.

Pakistan's government has said it is committed to privatising the debt-ridden airline and has been scrambling to find a buyer.

In 2024, a deal fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered a fraction of the asking price.

PIA came into being in 1955 when the government nationalised a loss-making commercial airline, and enjoyed rapid growth until the 1990s.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)