A team from the US Federal Aviation Administration will proceed to Pakistan in March 2025 to evaluate the case for resuming direct flights between the two countries. In connection with that visit, Pakistan has already submitted the necessary assessment fee of $75,000.
Direct flights between Pakistan and the US were suspended in 2017 with all manner of setbacks from Covid-19 to the 2020 PIA plane crash in Karachi. The situation got even worse when the EU banned PIA and the FAA downgraded Pakistan’s aviation safety rating from Category 1 to Category 2, with these events complicating the restoration of flights.
Pakistan was granted 12 special flights to the US for humanitarian assistance during the pandemic. Out of these, only seven were successful. Full-fledged service resumption has not occurred yet.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) have taken various measures to address all issues regarding safety and regulation. The preliminary assessment will be done by a five member team of FAA, an essential step toward restoring Pakistan’s aviation rating. After the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) clears it, direct flights from Pakistan will start with the hoped for beneficial effect of making PIA’s non-stop flights to New York, Chicago and Houston and replacing the previous Manchester stopover.
