The United Kingdom has removed Pakistan from his air safety list and cleared the way for Pakistani Airlines to apply for flight operations to the country, UK’s Air Safety Committee announced on Wednesday.
Although Pakistani Airlines can now apply to operate flights to the UK, each airline still has to secure the necessary permits of the British Civil Aviation Authority through a separate application process.
The move follows many years of technical cooperation between the United Kingdom’s Air Safety Committee and Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), where officials confirm that sufficient improvements have been made since Pakistan was first built in 2021 due to security concerns.
The decision is expected to facilitate the journey of over 1.6 million people of Pakistani heritage living in Britain and thousands of British citizens in Pakistan. It can also support increased bilateral trade, which is currently at £ 4.7 billion, making the British Pakistan’s third largest trading partner.
The United Kingdom’s Air Safety Committee made the decision through an independent, technically driven security review process that found that Pakistan had made the required security upgrades.
“I am grateful for aviation experts in the UK and Pakistan for their cooperation work to make improvements to meet international security standards. Although it will take time for flights to resume when the logistics are in place, I look forward to using a Pakistani carrier when I visit family and friends,” said British High Commissioner Jane Marriott CMG OBE OBE OBE.
