ISLAMABAD: The US on Tuesday said it has no "imminent plans" to start direct flights to Pakistan. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in March had requested the US for facilitating it to have direct flights to American cities, including New York, Chicago and Houston, as flying to the US via any en-route transit make the flight economics unviable.
This week, officials of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the US government agency that oversees airport and air carrier security, visited Islamabad airport.
During the visit, representatives of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and the Ministry of Aviation highlighted the airport's security features. The visit by the US delegation came days ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan's first meeting with President Donald Trump on July 22.
The team also visited Pakistan's aviation security infrastructure and met with their Pakistani civil aviation counterparts. After the visit, the US Embassy in Islamabad in a statement said, "This visit was not a formal inspection, audit, or assessment of any specific airport and there are no imminent plans for direct flights between Pakistan and the United States."
"Secure international air travel is essential to facilitate trade and connections. We look forward to deepening our relationship with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority as we explore additional areas of cooperation," the statement quoted TSA Regional Director Jason Schwabel as saying.
The US officials visit came days after the British Airways in June resumed direct flight from Islamabad after a gap of about a decade. In October 2017, the PIA stopped flying to New York, which was the national carrier's only destination in the US at the time, after it was reportedly incurring a loss of USD 12 million per year on the route.