UK lifts Ban on PIA after 5 Years

Britain has lifted its five-year ban on Pakistani airlines, allowing them to apply to resume UK flights.

The move comes as Pakistan accelerates plans to privatise its national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

The ban was imposed in 2020, days after Pakistan launched an investigation into fake pilot licences following a PIA crash that killed 97 people.

In a statement on July 16, 2025, the British High Commission said the decision followed “safety improvements by Pakistani authorities”.

The announcement comes shortly after the European Union lifted similar restrictions.

While several private Pakistani airlines fly domestically and to the Middle East, PIA has historically operated the only long-haul services between Pakistan, the UK, and the EU.

PIA previously estimated annual losses of £84 million due to the UK and EU bans.

Routes to London, Manchester, and Birmingham were among the carrier’s most profitable, and PIA still holds landing slots at London Heathrow.

A PIA spokesperson said the airline was finalising plans to resume flights to Britain “in the shortest possible time”.

The spokesperson added: “Flights would resume with the Islamabad-Manchester route, with three weekly flights planned initially pending schedule approval.”

The UK decision also comes at a crucial moment for the government in Islamabad. Four investor groups have been approved to bid for a 51–100% stake in PIA, with final bids expected later in 2025.

Officials are banking on a partial turnaround of the airline’s finances.

Recent reforms led to its first operating profit in over two decades, raising hopes that PIA’s long-haul capacity and international slots will attract buyers under Pakistan’s IMF-backed privatisation drive.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said during a press conference that the reinstated routes would boost the carrier’s value ahead of the sale.

He also revealed that the airline could soon resume flights to the US:

“There were plans to restart flights to New York.”

The lifting of the ban could mean two grooming gang ringleaders could finally be deported from the UK.

Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan’s deportations had been blocked because Pakistan refuses to accept them. The men renounced their Pakistani citizenship and tore up their passports, leaving them stateless.

But after the PIA ban was lifted, Labour MP for Rochdale, Paul Waugh, said: “This is very welcome news.

“I know that this decision will have been taken solely on the basis of the safety improvements made by the airline and is not linked to deportations.

“But it indicates exactly the kind of close working relationship we need between the UK and Pakistan to pave the way for the return of Pakistani nationals deported from the UK, including the men convicted for being Rochdale grooming gang members.”