Sept 9, 2021: According to the 2020 report of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Pakistan has made it to the list of countries that have achieved aviation targets with a score of 75%.

According to the report, 46 countries, including Pakistan, have succeeded in implementing more than 75% security standards. The report further revealed that there was a 16% increase in aviation accidents in 2019 compared to the previous year. The crash rate on one million flights was 2.9 percent.

The report reviews safety standards based on aviation laws, personnel training, aircraft licensing, accident investigations and navigation services. In July this year, PIA approved the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for the maintenance of flights to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

However, the national flag-bearing Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is awaiting an audit by the ICAO.

In late June 2020, the PIA came under pressure when Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced during a parliamentary session that 30 per cent of the country’s 860 active pilots were operating on fake licenses.

The minister released a report on May 22, a month after the plane crash in Karachi, in which 98 people were killed. After a series of incidents, Pakistani airlines, especially PIA, came under scrutiny from international organizations, which demanded a safety audit. Until then, PIA flights were banned for the European Union and the United Kingdom, while the United States reduced its category.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said, PIA was struggling to start direct flights to the United States, but Transport Safety Administration officials visited Islamabad Airport several times and willing to allow PIA to fly directly to the US.

However, after these incidents, the United States also banned flights to third countries, mostly through the United Kingdom. The UK had the authority to test all safety standards before the plane left for the United States. In July, the aviation minister said an ICAO team’s visit to Pakistan had been postponed due to the corona virus pandemic.

Talking to media, the Minister said that the ICAO team was initially scheduled to visit Pakistan from July 5 to 15, but it is expected to arrive in September or October.

Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!