Speaking at a private agreement ceremony on Thursday, the PIA chief said that the airline was still facing heavy losses, as many destinations, including the European Union (EU), were still barring PIA flights.
Air Marshal Ashad Malik said he was hopeful that PIA would fly again soon to the EU, following visits from international safety groups in the coming months.
“International auditors may complete the audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and PIA by next month,” he told journalists. “We are very much hopeful that the EU ban on PIA will be lifted in the wake of this audit.”
Last year, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conducted a two-week audit of the CAA's systems and procedures, and cleared PIA for certain international flights. However, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has said they will conduct their own investigation before lifting the ban on the airline.
The PIA CEO also announced new flight routes to Syria, Malaysia, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, as well as direct flights to and from Australia.
Safety concerns over PIA emerged after a deadly crash in Karachi in May 2020, which killed 97 passengers and crew members on board. Soon after, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar’s erroneously claimed that 262 of 860 pilots in Pakistan were improperly qualified or were using fake degrees. The comments took off internationally, and PIA was subsequently banned from flying to many parts of the world - even after it emerged that the minister's comments were false.