Airblue has been granted authorization by the European Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), thus being allowed to operate flights to Europe.
This is a significant expansion for the airline already flying, among others, to destinations in Jeddah and Riyadh, inside Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, inside the UAE. Given this approval, Airblue is widening its reach and thus improving the worldwide connectivity of Pakistan.
The announcement coincides with the lifting of the previous suspension imposed by the European Union on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 2020. According to the Minister for Aviation Khawaja Asif, extensive interventions by the ministry have borne fruit regarding safety oversight and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliance.
Also Read: Europe Officially Lifts Ban on PIA Flights, Granting TCO Authorization to Airblue
The PIA ban was placed due to the crash of a passenger plane in Karachi in the year 2020, which took away nearly 100 precious lives and showed a few irregularities in the process of pilot licensing. The ban significantly impacted PIA, costing the airline approximately Rs. 40 billion ($143.73 million) each year.
The confidence of European regulators in Pakistan’s aviation sector came back following a 2023 inspection of EASA and the European Commission, paving the way for bringing back PIA and allowing entry to Airblue in the European market.