Karachi:

A team from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is scheduled to visit Pakistan in March to assess the possibility of resuming direct flights between Pakistan and the US.

In preparation for the visit, Islamabad has already paid the required fee of $ 75,000, sources have revealed.

Direct flights from Pakistan to the United States were suspended in 2017 and the efforts to recover them face setbacks due to Covid-19 Pandemic and 2020 PIA aircraft crashes in Karachi.

Following the European Union’s ban on the National Airline Company, Faa Pakistan’s aviation safety assessment from category CA1 to category CA2, which further delayed the resumption of flights.

During the Covid-19 crisis, Pakistan was given special permission to operate 12 flights on humanitarian reasons to the United States, seven of which were successfully led.

To pave the way for resumption of flights, Pia and PCAA have taken various measures to tackle security and regulatory concerns. FAAS Team with five members is expected to conduct a preliminary assessment in March, which marks a crucial step towards recovering Pakistan’s aviation assessment. In addition, approval from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is required before flights can officially be resumed.

If the restrictions are lifted, Pia is expected to reintroduce direct aircraft to major US cities, including New York, Chicago and Houston. Earlier, Pia served his US aircraft via Manchester, but the effort is now focused on establishing non-stop connection.