PIA Petitions Return To Europe
PIA, the
only Pakistani flag airline operating cargo service to Europe from Karachi,
Lahore, and Islamabad on its Boeing 777 and Airbus 310s, hopes to be
back flying into Europe this week after flights were banned by EU edict
on July 28.
It’s high stakes poker to get the
EU okay ASAP, as PA generates more than 2 billion rupees annually on
its European cargo runs—revenue that is vital to the cash strapped
airline.
For its part, (PIA) Captain Salman Azhar,
director Flight Safety and Quality Assurance, is looking for a little
understanding to help drive resumed flights.
“It was not our fault at all,”
he told Express Tribune in Karachi.
“This temporary restriction wouldn’t
have been imposed in the first place if EU validation had been processed
on time.
“We’re hoping that the validation
officials will visit at least one of the stations this week.”
The airline found itself caught up as
an operator violating ACC3, operating into EU from a Third Country that
demanded carriers to take certain security screening measures by July
31, 2014.
Pakistan is in the high-risk or “Red”
ACC3 category since the recent armed attacks on Karachi Airport.
In compliance PIA says it had installed
dual view scanners and explosive trace detectors (ETDs), and deployed
dogs trained in identifying explosives.
“The validation is good for ten
years.
“We are now just trying to minimize
the loss by getting the process done as quickly as possible,”
said Azhar.
“Interestingly, we are in compliance
with the U.S. and Canadian regulations,” he said.
Left out in all of this is heightened
security awareness—maybe even the fear factor—on the heels
of a deadly June 10 attack on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport
that killed 28 people.
Geoffrey/Flossie
