European Union Air Safety Agency temporarily suspends PIA’s flight operations to Europe

European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorization to operate to the EU member states on Tuesday, for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020.

EASA  in a statement said:  The operator could not demonstrate having effectively implemented all elements of a Safety Management Systems as required by Annex 6 Part 1 and Annex 19 to the Chicago Convention (ref. PAK-OO01/ TR-2017-03/ 04).

Furthermore, EASA has received information according to which on Wednesday 24 June 2020, the Aviation Minister, Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, informed the Pakistani Parliament of the results of an investigation which revealed that more than 260 out of 860 pilot licenses issued by the Pakistani authorities and used by pilots operating for air operators certified in Pakistan are fraudulent.

Based on this information, EASA is concerned about the validity of the Pakistani pilot licenses and that Pakistan, as the State of the operator, is currently not capable to certify and oversee its operators and aircraft in accordance with applicable international standards. Pursuant to ART.235(a)(2) of Part-ART, EASA is required to take adequate enforcement measures in this situation.

As being reported, subsequently, PIA is discontinuing its flights to Europe temporarily, all passengers booked on PIA flights to European sectors will have the option to either extend their bookings for a later date or get full refunds.