The UK's Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday said it was withdrawing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) licenses to operate from its three airports as required by law.
The spokesperson for the UK Authority told a source 'PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow, and Manchester airports are immediately suspended.'
These were major flight destinations for all three airlines.
The announcement comes after the European Union's air safety agency (EASA) decided to suspend airline operations in the bloc for the next six months. This development follows the suspenion and grounding of 262 pilots whose licenses have been described by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan as "suspicious".
Earlier on Tuesday, PIA had said in a press release that EASA had suspended the airline's permission to operate in the block for six months.
A statement from PIA stated that 'the EASA temporarily suspended PIA's permit to operate in EU member states on 1 July 2020 with the right to appeal against this decision.' It has been added by PIA that it would temporarily suspend all its flights to European countries.
All passengers who booked their flights to European destinations will have the option to extend their booking to a later date or get a full refund.
The PIA said it would temporarily suspend all its flights to Europe, but later said it had received a relief of two days from July 1 to July 3 with permission to land in Europe and the UK. The spokesman said.
The airline spokesman, Abdullah Hafeez, said the EU had approved the extension of the flight operation after the foreign secretary contacted European officials. He said the PIA administration, the Foreign Office, and the Pakistani ambassador were in touch with all European officials.
He told the media that PIA would operate its PK785 and PK786 flights as per the previous schedule. However, other flight schedules will be announced later.
The PIA had already written letters to foreign missions and international regulatory and security agencies, assuring them that it had taken strict measures to protect passengers and that the '105 pilots' who had obtained licenses through illegal means have all been grounded.
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