Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), whose ageing aircraft face a partial flight ban in the European Union, will continue to fly to Dubai due to the emirate’s more ‘flexible’ flight regulations.
A source at Dubai Department of Civil Aviation’s public relations department told ArabianBusiness.com that – compared to the EU – flight regulations in the emirate are “flexible and easy to abide by,” but refused to comment on why Dubai had not followed in the EU’s footsteps for a ban on PIA flights.
The emirate’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) yesterday confirmed that Pakistan’s national carrier is ‘in good standing’, stating: “Dubai Department of Civil Aviation has no safety concerns about PIA aircraft and the Pakistani national carrier will therefore continue its Dubai operations unhindered”, Gulf News reported today.
The statement also confirmed that all airlines operating at Dubai International Airport abide by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ‘s regulations.
According to a BBC report Monday, the EU’s move to ban PIA flights to the 27-nation bloc comes after warnings last year that it would ban flights unless the airline overhauled its ageing fleet.
David Kaminski-Morrow, editor at UK-based Air Transport Intelligence magazine, told Gulf News that the EU’s aviation guidelines are among the strictest in the world and doubted non-European countries would issue similar restrictions.
“I can’t see other PIA markets being that particular,” he told the paper. “The EU is just requiring them to use modern aircraft. This suggests nothing is really wrong with PIA.”
The EU’s ruling is centred on safety concerns about the condition of PIA’s fleet of 747s and Airbus 310s. PIA has since told the EU that it plans to replace most of its fleet with EU-made Airbus planes as early as July, Pakistan’s Daily Times reported yesterday.
PIA is one of the largest foreign carriers serving Dubai, with 49 flights per week to and from Pakistan.
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