European agency refuses to lift ban on Pakistan flights

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 23 (ANI): European Union agency has once again refused to lift the ban imposed on Pakistan's flights, local media reported citing a letter issued by European Union Aviation Safety Agency, stating that "it would conduct its own evaluation before allowing resumption of flights from Pakistan."
"The closure of this significant safety concern was an important step towards a potential lifting of the suspension of your third country operator authorisation," the EASA stated in a letter to Pakistan International Airlines Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik, Dawn reported.
However, the letter notes that "EASA shall conduct an audit of the operator prior to lifting the suspension. Since deficiencies in state oversight were a contributor to the suspension decision, such (an) audit will have to include an assessment to verify if these deficiencies have been properly addressed and corrected."
Pakistani carriers had been restricted from flying to EU states in July 2020 when the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) authorisation to operate flights to EU member states, Dawn reported further.
In December last year, an ICAO audit team that had visited Pakistan to undertake a safety audit of the aviation authority completed the process on December 10, according to lacal media. (ANI)