LAHORE: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is likely to resume its European Union operations next month after getting clearance from international aviation auditors, its CEO Arshad Malik said on Thursday.

“International auditors may complete the audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and PIA by next month,” Mr Malik told journalists. “We are very much hopeful that the EU ban on PIA will be lifted in the wake of this audit.”

He said international safety groups would also visit Pakistan later this month or early next month in this regard.

Mr Malik said those who had conducted an inquiry against PIA pilots and declared hundreds of them with dubious licenses were responsible for the EU ban on PIA, which led to heavy losses for the national carrier.

Mr Malik also questioned CAA’s priorities regarding the national airline, complaining that the authority “does not give priority to PIA”.

“Gulf countries also don’t give us slots and we have to explore other destinations,” he said. “We have also started flights to [Syrian capital] Damascus after 22 years. We have also started flights for Malaysia and Iraq and from next month for [Azerbaijan’s capital] Baku and preparations are under way to launch direct flights to and from Australia for the first time.”

Besides, the PIA was also working on starting direct operations to Hong Kong, he said.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last month said it would conduct its own evaluation before allowing the resumption of flights from Pakistan.

In a letter to Mr Malik, EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said that although Pakistan was able to remove safety concerns raised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, this was only part of the process that would lead to the lifting of restrictions on Pakistani airlines.

The issue of dubious licenses allegedly held by Pakistan’s pilot drew global attention after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed in the National Assembly in mid-2020 that 150 pilots from PIA had “fake licences”. The European Union later banned PIA over the scandal.