UK lifts years-long ban on Pakistani airlines
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Civil Aviation Resources Network, July 17, 2025: According to foreign media reports, the UK recently announced the lifting of its five-year ban on Pakistan Airlines, allowing airlines to apply to resume flights to the UK. This decision coincides with the Pakistani government's efforts to increase the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
In 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane crashed, killing 97 people, and Pakistan subsequently launched an investigation into the validity of domestic pilot licenses. Later in June 2020, the then Pakistani Aviation Minister publicly admitted that nearly one-third of pilots were suspected of cheating in the license exam, causing aviation regulators in many countries to have serious doubts about Pakistan's aviation safety system. The UK then imposed a ban on Pakistan Airlines a few days later.
The British High Commission said on Wednesday that the ban was lifted because Pakistani authorities had made significant improvements in aviation safety. In the previous months, the European Union had taken similar measures to clear some obstacles for Pakistan Airlines to return to the international market.
Pakistan International Airlines previously estimated that the ban caused it to lose about 40 billion rupees in revenue each year. A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines said the company is completing preparations for resuming flights to the UK "in the shortest possible time" and has submitted a proposed flight plan. The initial plan is to resume the Islamabad-Manchester route with three flights per week, and the specific frequency is still pending approval.
In addition, Pakistan Defense Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif revealed at a press conference on Wednesday that in addition to the UK, Pakistan International Airlines also plans to restart the New York route.