LAHORE: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) did not file an appeal against the European Union Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) six-month ban on operating flights in EU member states after the cash-strapped national carrier was told that it might face another embarrassment for not meeting the required safety measures, according to official sources.
The EU suspended the PIA's flight operations to and from its member states on July 1 for six months following Pakistan's Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan's disclosure that the government had grounded 262 pilots after finding their commercial flying licenses dubious.
The EASA said it was concerned about the validity of the Pakistani pilot licences following the minister's statement.
"The PIA did not file an appeal against EASA's decision after assessing that it may face yet another embarrassment for having its appeal rejected on safety grounds," a source in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told PTI on Tuesday.
He said that instead the PIA launched a "safety week" ahead of the arrival of the International Air Transport Association's operational safety audit team to put up a better case to it.
"The PIA will take up this matter with IATA once it is sure that no question will be raised on its safety issue," he said.
The two-month deadline for filing the appeal expired on August 30.
The IATA's team is arriving in Pakistan on September 7 to assess the operational management, control systems and safety measures adopted by the PIA.
On June 30, the EASA suspended PIA flights to and from the EU member countries for six months effective from July 1 directing it to implement safety management tools in the airline's flight operation within the stipulated time December 31, 2020.
The EASA also asked as to how the CAA has been functioning, how it issued commercial pilot licenses to applicants, how the candidates solved their examination papers, how the number of aircraft being operated by the national flag carrier and how it maintained safety measures.