Showing posts with label PIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PIA. Show all posts

18 August, 2020

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority approves Pakistan International Airlines request to restart some services using aircraft chartered from Hi Fly Limited.

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority has issued an update  Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operations into the UK on Tuesday 18 August. 

On 30 June 2020, the CAA suspended permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate services to the United Kingdom, following the decision of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to withdraw the airline's Third Country Operator safety certificate.

However, the Civil Aviation Authority has now approved a request from the company to be allowed to recommence services between Islamabad to Birmingham and Manchester using aircraft chartered from the EU carrier Hi Fly Limited. PIA's Foreign Carrier Permit has been amended accordingly. This approval came into effect from 14 August 2020.

EASA's prohibition on PIA operating flights into the European Common Aviation Area with its own aircraft is unaffected by this amendment.  














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24 June, 2020

Initial report cites human error in PIA crash in May.

Photo EPA
An initial report into the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines - PIA  Airbus A320 that was flying from Lahore to Karachi with 99 people on board has cited human error as the cause of the disaster.

The interim report, released on Wednesday says human error by the pilot and air traffic control operator caused the crash which claimed the lives of  97 people on 22nd May this year. 

Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Pakistan's Aviation Minister said: "The pilot as well as the controller didn't follow the standard rules," during a parliamentary session where the report's findings were announced.

Khan told the politicians the pilots were discussing the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic as they attempted to land the aircraft. "The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout the conversation was about coronavirus," 

The minister also said the aircraft was airworthy with no mechanical malfunctions, "100 percent fit for flying, there was no technical fault".

23 May, 2020

Death toll from PIA Karachi crash rises to 97

The death toll from Pakistan International Airlines flight PK8303 that crash on Friday has risen to 97, with two survivors, authorities have confirmed today.   

The Airbus A320 was flying from Lahore to Karachi with 99 people on board when it crashed after apparent double engine failure after two unsuccessful landing attempts. 

The provincial health minister’s media coordinator issued a statement:  “Final plane crash update: 66 bodies were brought to (Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre), 31 bodies were brought to Civil Hospital Karachi,” it also added that there were no deaths confirmed on the ground.

The Prime Minister's office confirmed a four-member team had been instructed to launch an inquiry into the accident.  This team is said to include three people from the nations Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board and another from the Pakistan Air Force’s safety board.  According to reports, this team will issue a preliminary report within one month.





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22 May, 2020

Airbus A320 of Pakistan International Airlines crashed into a residential area of Karachi

An investigation is underway in the Pakistan city of Karachi into why a packed Airbus A320 of Pakistan International Airlines crashed into a residential area in the city.

The Airbus A320, registration AP-BLD, was operating flight PK8303 and took off from Lahore Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE) shortly after 1300 local time,  0800 GMT.  The aircraft was carrying 91 passengers and 8 crew according to PIA and was attempting to land at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi (KHI). Air traffic control lost contact with the flight crew around 1430 local time - 0930 GMT, shortly after the crew had reported engine issues and according to sources, issuing a mayday emergency. 

Images and video circulating on social media show a wide area of destruction and debris over the densely populated Model Colony residential area, around two miles north-east of the airport and not far from the airport's boundary.

According to Sindh Province health officials, at least 37 dead bodies had been taken to two local hospitals, although it is not known at this stage if they were passengers from the aircraft or local residents or bystanders.

20 July, 2019

PIA ATR skids off the runway at Gilgit

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ATR aircraft, carrying 48 passengers has skidded off the runway while landing at the Gilgit airport on Saturday, according to local officials.

The airline said that all passengers had evacuated the plane safely and were being assisted, "The ATR-42 aircraft skidded a little off an unpaved patch. The pilots exhibited great skill and composure to regain control and ensure everyone's safety," PIA said in a statement.

The aircraft was pictured titled on its right side in a grassy area next to the runway,  "The CEO has issued orders for an immediate and transparent probe. Strict action in accordance with aviation laws will be taken if the investigators find evidence of any human or technical error," the statement said.

18 October, 2018

Delays in paying wages causes strife for Pakistan International Airlines staff

Staff wages are being delayed as financially troubled Pakistan International Airlines, the national carrier of Pakistan, struggles to survive amid mounting debts. 

Local media is reporting that most staff had not been paid on time, forcing the airline to publicly confirm there had been delays in paying the October staff salaries because of financial constraints, but officials assured that most people had been paid by October 7th.

"It has been very distressing, if we had been told in advance our pay was going to be late, we could have made other arrangements and budgeted for it." Ashok, a PIA employee told us today.   

The airline is said to be raking up losses in excess of PKR2 billion rupees, around  $15 million every month following higher fuel prices, the weaker exchange rates of the rupee, which has drastically dropped in value in recent times. The carrier has also had to cope with increased competition, top-level management changes, corruption, excessive over staffing and maintenance issues - at least five aircraft are out of service at the moment. Another worrying sign came from the Pakistan Stock Exchange which put PIA on warning for not submitting its audit report and convening annual general meetings.  

The future direction of the national carrier is uncertain, the government under the direction of new Prime Minister Mr Khan appointed an Air Vice Marshal from the Air Force, Arshad Malik, to the role of chairman to try and turn the company around.  “The new chairman of the national carrier has been directed to “immediately fix the institution’s economic condition,” the information ministry said after the appointment had been made. 

(Image PIA)

04 September, 2018

Supreme Court orders Pakistan International Airlines boss to step down

Pakistan International Airlines' chief executive has stepped down from the airline on the direct order of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, which said his appointment was made in violation of the rules and regulations. 

PIA named Musharraf Rasool Cyan as its chief executive during the last quarter of last year and it was hoped he could turn the carrier's fortunes around late. PIA was reported to be losing up to $30 million per month last year. 

The three-member panel headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar passed the ruling on Monday that Musharraf Rasool Cyan didn't have any aviation experience, nor did he meet the criteria set down for the position. One of the judges even remarked that Cyan’s appointed was illegal because he'd only been placed in the position because of his relationship to an adviser to the former prime minister. who made the appointment. 

Pakistan International Airlines have confirmed today that it has complied with the courts ruling and Cyan had left the company. 

07 October, 2017

PIA to end US flights.

Pakistan International Airlines will be ending their US-bound flights from the end of October, a leading local news media outlet is reporting.

The airline is suffering huge financial losses on flights to and from the United States of America of up to 1.25 billion rupees a year according to the reports. However, the airline is facing much pressure from the government and leading politicians (most with dual nationality) to continue the services. 


Despite the local media reporting the end of US-bound PIA flights, we found they were still being offered for sale via the PIA website for dates after November and into next year.  

 "We are in the process of devising a strategy for our flights to the United States, and will have something more concrete by Monday", PIA Spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said while talking to local media. 


04 May, 2015

PIA Pilots Put Passengers Safety At Risk

A shocking revelation emerged on Sunday regarding the safety of a Pakistan International Airlines flight. The highly regarded pilot put the lives of all passengers and crew at risk when he took command of the flight, without mandatory rest. The trans-Atlantic flight happened in April and only became known on Sunday.

According to media sources, PIA did not check the violation of air safety rules, a spokesperson for the airline claimed a thorough inquiry would be conducted into the incident that happened in the first week of April.

This was not the first such incident of compromise on air safety as another pilot, Amir Hashmi, had been involved in such violation at least twice in the past, the sources said. They added that no punitive action had been taken against him, lending courage to other pilots to put the life of air travellers at unnecessary risk.

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