The United Kingdom has withdrawn Pakistan from its air security list, paving the way for Pakistani airlines to request flight operations in the country, the United Kingdom Aviation Safety Committee announced on Wednesday.
Although Pakistani carriers can now apply to exploit flights to the United Kingdom, each airline will always have to obtain the necessary permits of the United Kingdom Aviation Authority through a separate request process.
This decision follows years of technical collaboration between the United Kingdom Aviation Security Committee and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), those responsible confirming that sufficient improvements have been made since Pakistan was listed for the first time in 2021 due to security problems.
The decision should facilitate travel for more than 1.6 million people in Pakistani heritage living in the United Kingdom and thousands of British nationals in Pakistan. It can also support the increase in bilateral trade, which currently amounts to 4.7 billion pounds sterling, which makes the third trading partner in British Pakistan.
The British Aviation Safety Committee has made the decision through an independent security examination process, which has found that Pakistan had made the required security improvements.
“I am grateful to aviation experts in the United Kingdom and Pakistan for their collaborative work to stimulate improvements to meet international security standards. Although it takes time for the flights to resume, once the logistics are in place, I can’t wait to use a Pakistani carrier during family and friends visit, “said British High Commissioner Jane Marriott CMG Obe.
