LONDON:
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officially asked Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), the world coordinator of airport slots, to rent two of his Heathrow London London London to Saudi airlines for the 2025 summer season, confirmed Sunday a spokesperson.
The request for rental follows the Restrictions on the PIA in the United Kingdom and the United States, despite the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lifting a prohibition of four years on the airline in November 2024. Standards, in The rest of a Karachi plane crash that killed 97 people and an investigation into the driver license irregularities.
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan told Arab News that the airline had asked for an ACL “niche exchange”, allowing Saudi airlines to use Heathrow of April 5 at April 5 October 25, 2025. In April.
From the European restrictions, PIA has used a “babysitting option” to keep its heathrow slots by praising them to Turkish airlines, Saudi airlines and airlines in Vietnam. The airline previously owned 10 Heathrow slots, with six rented to Turkish airlines and two each to the Airlines Sadia and Vietnam.
Although PIA has taken over to Europe, including a recent Islamabad-Paris service, it remains prohibited in the United Kingdom and the United States. Last month, a delegation from the British Department of Transport and Civil Aviation Authority went to Pakistan to assess the air security protocols. The UK Safety Review Board is expected to decide on the operational authorization of the PIA at a meeting scheduled from March 12 to 13.
“If Pakistan receives permission to resume its own flights to the United Kingdom, we will gradually recover these slots for our own operations,” said Khan.
Meanwhile, PIA continues to combat financial instability. The debt airline, which posted losses of $ 270 million in 2023 and has liabilities near $ 3 billion, remains a key target for the privatization of the Pakistani government. An earlier attempt to sell the airline failed after a potential buyer offered much less than the requested price.
The officials hope that the reopening of European roads will open the way for new operational recovery, which will lead to future expansion on the British market.
