PIA flights to Europe likely to restart in 2 months

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Europe are likely to restart in the next two months as the government is utilising all technical and diplomatic means to resolve the ban issue, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said.

“PIA is in contact with European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) to allay their concerns and take necessary corrective measures along with filing an appeal against the decision on Aug.31,” Dawn news quoted Khan as saying on Friday, adding there is room for the appeal against the EASA ban and the government will file it.

The EASA suspended PIA’S authorisation to operate in EU states ater the grounding of 262

Pakistani pilots whose licences were termed “dubious.” Following the move, the UK Civil Aviation Authority also withdrew PIA’S permit to operate from three of its airports in Birmingham, London and Manchester.

The minister said PIA was currently managing European flight operations through “court sharing” arrangements, under which PIA flies passengers to Istanbul and subsequently they travel to Europe and London. Flight operations to London are being carried out through a Portuguese airliner.

However, he said, these were temporary arrangements and PIA would restore its flight operations in two months, Dawn news reported.

Regarding the necessity of grounding PIA pilots, the Minister said that steps being taken by the government were aimed at ensuring the highest level of flight safety in PIA operations.

The flag carrier remains commited to maintaining the highest standards and quality in its air operations, he added.

China will supply a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by a unit of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to Pakistan as part of a trial agreement, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

State-owned Sinopharm is set to work with the University of Karachi on vaccine trials, according to the WSJ report, which said Pakistan will receive enough doses early in distribution to vaccinate about one-fith of its population. In an unrelated development, three Pakistan nationals died in a fire in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona which let another four people injured, police said

The fire broke out early morning in the basement of a building in the Barceloneta district of the city, killing three men, “all Pakistani nationals,” a police spokesman told AFP. Of the four injured, one was in serious condition, the mayor’s office said. Police are looking into the cause of the fire.

Barcelona is the economic center of the Catalonia region and is home to a large number of immigrants.