Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s state-owned airline, has started flying to Europe again after a four-year stop due to safety issues. On Friday, a flight took off from Islamabad to Paris, making PIA the only airline offering a direct route to Europe.
Shumaila Rana, a 38-year-old teacher from Germany, shared her feelings, saying, “This is my first time flying with PIA. I’m nervous and anxious, but I hope the flight goes well.”
PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union, UK, and USA after a tragic crash in Karachi killed nearly 100 people. Investigators said the crash was caused by mistakes made by the pilots and air traffic control. There were also claims that many PIA pilots had fake licenses.
In 2016, another PIA plane caught fire due to an engine failure, leading to over 40 fatalities.
Recently, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted the travel ban, stating they now trust Pakistan’s aviation authority to keep flights safe. However, PIA still cannot fly to the UK or the USA.
The airline currently serves various destinations within Pakistan and to the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
Hopes are high for PIA, which employs around 7,000 people. The government wants to sell the struggling airline and has been looking for a buyer. However, a previous deal fell through when a buyer wanted to pay much less than what was being asked.
In 2023, PIA reported losses of $270 million and had nearly $3 billion in debts, which is five times more than what their assets are worth. This year, many domestic flights were canceled because the airline couldn’t afford fuel.
PIA was created in 1955 when the government took over a struggling airline. It grew quickly but started having financial problems in the 1990s.
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