A delegation from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is set to visit Pakistan in March to assess the feasibility of resuming direct flights between the two countries.
According to a news report, Pakistan has paid the required $75,000 assessment fee in anticipation of the visit.
Direct flights between Pakistan and the US were halted in 2017, with efforts to restore operations facing multiple delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash in Karachi.
The situation worsened when the European Union imposed a ban on PIA, leading the FAA to downgrade Pakistan’s aviation safety rating from Category 1 (CA1) to Category 2 (CA2), making the resumption of flights more challenging.
During the pandemic, Pakistan was granted special permission to operate 12 humanitarian flights to the US, seven of which were successfully conducted. Since then, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and PIA have implemented various measures to meet international safety and regulatory standards.
A five-member FAA team will carry out a preliminary assessment next month, a crucial step toward restoring Pakistan’s aviation rating. However, final clearance from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will also be required before commercial flights can resume.
If restrictions are lifted, PIA plans to relaunch direct flights to major US destinations, including New York, Chicago, and Houston. Previously, PIA operated flights to the US with a stopover in Manchester, but the airline is now focusing on securing non-stop routes.
