Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has formally requested airport coordination Limited (ACL), Global Airport Castle Coordinator, to rent two of its London Heathrow slots to Saudi Airlines for the summer season 2025, a spokesman confirmed on Sunday.

The lease follows Pia’s ongoing restrictions in the UK and the United States despite the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), standards following a Karachi airline accident that killed 97 people and a study of irregularities in pilot licenses.

Pia spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan told Arab News that the airline has sought a “slot exchange” from ACL, enabling Saudi Airlines to use Heathrow -Slots from April 5 to October 25, 2025.

Since facing European restrictions, Pia has used a “babysitting opportunity” to preserve his Heathrow slots by leasing them to Turkish airlines, Saudi airlines and Vietnam airlines. The airline previously held 10 Heathrow slots with six rented for Turkish airlines and two each to Saudia and Vietnam Airlines.

Although Pia has resumed flights to Europe, including a recent Islamabad paris service, it remains blocked from Britain and the United States. Last month, a delegation from the UK’s Department of Transport and Civil Aviation Authority visited Pakistan to assess aviation safety protocols. The British security notification is set to decide Pia’s operational approval in a meeting scheduled for March 12-13.

“If Pakistan is allowed to resume his own flights to Britain, we will gradually regain these slots for our own operations,” Khan said.

Meanwhile, Pia struggles to fight financial instability. The debt -written airline, which released $ 270 million losses in 2023 and has obligations approaching $ 3 billion, is still a key target for privatization of the Pakistani government. An earlier attempt to sell the airline fell through after a potential buyer offered significantly less than the requested price.

Officials hope that the reopening of European routes will pave the way for further operational recovery, which could potentially lead to future expansion in the UK market.