EU to ban most Pakistan Airlines planes - source

BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (Reuters) The European Union is set to ban most of Pakistan International Airlines' fleet from flying to the 27-country bloc because of safety concerns, an EU source said today.

The source said a committee of experts had decided to block all but seven planes of the airline's 40-plane fleet from flying to Europe for failing to meet international safety standards.

''Only those seven will be allowed to make flights to European Union countries,'' the source said. ''The rest of the fleet will be blacklisted.'' The decision is likely to come into force in about 10 days, the source said, once made official by the European Commission.

He said the decision could cause disruptions to passengers because the airline had flight connections to Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.

Last year the Commission banned nearly 100 airlines from operating in the bloc, targeting mostly African carriers after a spate of fatal crashes involving European passengers.

REUTERS SAM RK2205