UK, Germany ban most Pak Int'l Airlines planes

Karachi, March 3: British and German authorities have banned around three-quarters of Pakistan International Airlines' ageing fleet from flying to their countries because of safety concerns, a PIA spokesman said today.

''We have received directives from England and Germany on our planes and after that we have decided to only operate Boeing 777 planes in both the countries,'' PIA spokesman Nasir Jamal said.

''The ban on all other planes will be effective from Sunday 0230 hrs ist'' he added.

The ban followed a European Union decision to bar all but seven Boeing 777s planes out of the airline's 42-plane fleet from flying to the 27-country bloc.

The state-run airline was warned last year that most of its planes failed to meet international standards. The EU's concerns focused on maintenance problems and old aircraft.

The PIA fleet that would be affected includes six Boeing 747-300s, two 747-200s, seven 737-300s, one 727-200, 12 Airbus A310-300s, two A-321s, one A310 and three ATR-50s.

Jamal said a team of senior PIA officials were currently in Brussels to meet the concerns of the EU's aviation authorities on the airline's fleet.

But another PIA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said EU officials remained unconvinced by the airline's efforts to upgrade its ageing fleet.

''It is now almost certain that they have decided to ban most of our fleet in Europe. England and Germany have already taken a decision and the rest will follow them in a week or so,'' the official said.

''They refused to give us extra time and, by March 8 or 9, other EU countries will also impose a ban. We have indications,'' he added.

PIA operates 26 flights a week to Europe. Its most profitable routes were to the West Asia and Britain.

A PIA flight schedule official said the airline was mulling a cut in the number of weekly flights on European routes.

''Boeing 777s will be used to the maximum on the European sector but still I would say we will have to cut at least 15 to 20 per cent of our European operations,'' he added.

Airline officials said last month that PIA was considering leasing passenger airliners and crew in light of the EU ban.

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

Reuters