Webdesk: The US department of transportation on Thursday suspended Pakistan International Airline’s special permit, citing concerns over the flag carrier’s safety measures and pilots’ “suspicious licenses”.
The authority, in a statement, said, “The PIA will not be able to operate its flights to the United States.”
The US authority said that a ban has been placed on “all types of flights” operated by PIA.
PIA’s spokesperson confirmed the ban and said that the national carrier had received an email in this regard.
“We will address America’s concerns,” he said, adding that hopefully, the matter of pilots’ licences will be resolved through ongoing corrective measures within the airline.
The move comes a few days after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the national carrier’s permit for six months, UK barred PIA flights from three of its airports and Vietnam grounded all Pakistani pilots working in the country.
Similarly, Malaysia’s aviation regulatory authority had announced the temporary suspension of pilots who hold Pakistani licenses and were employed by its domestic airlines.
