Islamabad, Nov 30: Airblue Secures Approval for Direct Flights to Europe. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Commission have permitted Airblue to run flights to Europe.
The airline, which now flies to overseas locations like Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia as well as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, has expanded significantly with this development. With this approval, Pakistan’s worldwide connectivity would be improved as Airblue expands its reach.
The news coincides with the lifting of the European Union’s 2020-era ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). According to Khawaja Asif, Minister of Aviation, the decision was made after the Ministry of Aviation took significant steps to enhance safety oversight and comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements.
The 2020 plane tragedy in Karachi, which tragically cost almost 100 lives and exposed anomalies in pilot license, prompted the original imposition of the PIA ban. PIA suffered significant losses as a result of the stoppage, with an estimated yearly cost of Rs. 40 billion ($143.73 million).
Pakistan’s aviation industry won back the trust of European regulators after an EASA and European Commission examination in 2023, which allowed PIA to reenter the European market and Airblue to join it.
