UK CAA delays granting permission for PIA flights return over safety concerns

The UK’s aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is holding back on granting Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) the permission it needs to resume flights to UK airports. The delay in granting this permission is said to be due to ongoing safety concerns, despite PIA being given the green light to return to EU airports by European safety authorities back in November 2024.  

Having received that permission to return to EU airports, PIA wasted little time in doing so, operating its first flight to Europe in four years on January 10. 2025 when one of its Boeing 777s flew from Islamabad to Paris on a scheduled passenger flight. However, despite the resumption of services to Paris, the UK has continued to delay granting the permissions that PIA needs over ongoing safety concerns, particularly concerning two separate incidents involving PIA aircraft in early 2025 – one coming just days after the resumption of flights to Paris.

On January 17, 2025, a PIA Airbus A320 operating a domestic flight in Pakistan landed on a closed runway at Lahore Airport whose lights were switched off at the time of the landing attempt. Although the aircraft landed without further incident, questions were immediately raised as to just how a severe breach of safety and operating protocols at the company could occur allowing such a significant mistake to be made.

Markus Mainka / ShutterstockThe flight involved was PIA flight PK150 operating from Dammam Airport (DMM) in Saudi Arabia to Multan Airport (MUX) in Pakistan on January 17, 2025. The flight, which operates weekly, had been forced to divert from its intended destination due to adverse weather conditions, which included thick fog, in Multan. Approaching Lahore Airport from the south, the flight was cleared to land on runway 36R at the airport. However, the aircraft landed on the airport’s parallel runway (36L) at 07:34 local time. While the active runway (36R) had its approach and edge lights fully illuminated at the time of the landing, it is understood that those for 36L were fully extinguished.

Then, on March 12, 2025, a PIA flight from Karachi to Lahore operated by another of the carrier’s Airbus A320 fleet, was discovered to have lost a main gear tire upon landing in Lahore. The flight (PK306) landed safely with the missing tire being found close to the boundary of Karachi Airport some days later, it having detached upon take off.

On March 12, PIA Airbus A320 aircraft registration AP-BLS flight PK306 from Karachi landed safely in Lahore with a missing wheel of main landing gear.The missing wheel was noticed during post-flight inspection of the aircraft at Lahore Airport. pic.twitter.com/sr9vf8jbZe— Pakistan Aviation News (@avpak3) March 13, 2025 Ongoing safety concerns

Both of these events are believed to have played a crucial role in the ongoing assessment of Pakistan’s aviation safety standards, according to Pakistan news outlet, Samaa.tv. The next opportunity for the CAA to review its decision to allow PIA back into UK airports is expected to be made sometime in either May or June 2025 when the CAA safety team is due to meet following further discussion with representatives from both PIA and the Pakistan aviation safety authorities.

According to reports, the CAA revisited Pakistan in February 2025, where its team was tasked with compiling an assessment report on whether to allow PIA to restore flight operations to the UK. The airline has repeatedly made it clear that it wishes to resume flights to London, Manchester, and possibly even Birmingham airports in the UK as soon as it is able, to serve the large Pakistani diasporas in those regions with direct flights.

sockagphoto / ShutterstockHowever, sources told Samaa.tv that the CAA team has advised it needs more time to evaluate various factors, including safety protocols, procedural improvements, and data analysis of PIA’s recent operations. The team, from the CAA, has reportedly been granted 40 to 50 days to finalize its report, which will be submitted before the next British Air Safety Committee to be held in May or June 2025, with a decision expected shortly afterward.

The UK suspended flights of all Pakistan-based airlines, including PIA, in 2020 following safety concerns raised after the revelation that PIA was employing pilots with falsified flying licenses. The ban imposed by the UK coincided with a wider ban being imposed by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), which was eventually lifted at the end of 2024.

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