Pakistan Flight departs for Paris after EU Ban Lifted

Pakistan's state-owned airline resumed flights to Europe on Friday after a four-year ban was lifted by EU regulators.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight took off from Islamabad around 12:40 PM Local Time heading for Paris becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union. PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a Karachi Street, killing nearly 100 people.

The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control. In November, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced it had lifted the ban, however it remains barred from flying in the UK and the United States.