EU bans PIA flights on safety fears
06 Mar 2007
The EU had said last year that it it would ban PIA flights unless the airline revamped its ageing fleet. According to the EU its decision was on safety concerns surrounding the condition of the airlines fleet of 747s and Airbus 310s. (See: Pakistan International Airlines faces EU ban)
Last week, a team led by PIA's chairman and Pakistan's envoy to Brussels met EU representatives to try to resolve the issue. A PIA statement after the meeting said it "strongly disagreed with the EU's proposed action and on the given facts does not consider it to be justifiable".
Last year PIA's domestic and Middle Eastern sector revenues were hit after the Pakistani government forced it to ground its Fokker fleet, following a public outcry after accidents involving the aircraft.