According to the latest IATA , released on June 2, 2024, as of the end of April, the total amount of funds held up amounted to roughly $1.8 billion, marking a decrease of approximately $708 million, which accounts for about 28% since December 2023. The association clarified that the notable decrease was primarily propelled by the substantial release of funds previously blocked in Nigeria and Egypt.

In June 2023, Nigeria experienced a peak in blocked funds totaling $850 million, greatly impacting the country’s airline operations and financial stability. Air carriers encountered challenges repatriating revenues in US dollars, prompting some carriers to scale back operations, with one temporarily halting flights to Nigeria. But by April 2024, 98% of these funds had been successfully cleared.

Now the remaining $19 million is awaiting verification by the Central Bank, pertaining to outstanding forward claims submitted by commercial banks.

鈥淲e commend the new Nigerian government and the Central Bank of Nigeria for their efforts to resolve this issue. Individual Nigerians and the economy will all benefit from reliable air connectivity for which access to revenues is critical. We are on the right path and urge the government to clear the residual $19 million and continue prioritizing aviation,” Willie Walsh, IATA精东影业 Director General, said.

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$731 million stuck in Pakistan and Bangladesh

IATA also reported that the combined blocked funds in eight countries make up 87% of the total, reaching $1.6 billion. The situation has mostly escalated in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as airlines struggle to repatriate $731 million in revenue earned within these regions, with $411 million trapped in Pakistan and $320 million in Bangladesh.

“Pakistan and Bangladesh must release the $731 million in blocked funds immediately to ensure airlines can continue providing essential air connectivity. In Bangladesh, the solution is in the hands of the Central Bank, which must prioritize aviation精东影业 access to foreign exchange in line with international treaty obligations. The solution in Pakistan is finding efficient alternatives to the system of audit and tax exemption certificates, which cause long processing delays,” the IATA精东影业 Director General concluded.

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• Airlines
• Aviation Safety
• Aviation Technology and Innovation

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The association has urged countries鈥� governments to eliminate all obstacles preventing airlines from repatriating revenues from ticket sales and other activities, in line with international agreements and treaty obligations.

In a statement on August 7, 2023, the government announced that the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) held a meeting where attendees, including the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, considered a proposal that PIA should enter the country精东影业 the privatization program.聽聽

鈥淭he CCoP after deliberation decided to include Pakistan International Airlines Co. Ltd (PIACL) in the list of active privatization projects of the ongoing privatization program, following an amendment in the law by the Parliament,鈥� the statement said. 

Additionally, the CCop also gave the green light for a financial adviser to be found to process the transaction of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, an asset of PIA Investment Limited (PIA-IL). 

In July 2020, the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the PIA精东影业 license for flights to European countries.  

The suspension came following a pilot license scandal in which Pakistan精东影业 Civil Aviation Authority suspected active Pakistani pilots had cheated during mandatory pilot exams. 

According to , in July 2023, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said he hoped flights to the United Kingdom (UK) would resume over the next few months.聽聽

“God willing, the PIA flights will resume at least to the UK in three months, and, later, flights to Europe and America will resume,” he said. 

In June 2023, Pakistan secured a $3 billion a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

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• Aviation Technology and Innovation

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The agreement is said to have been reached during the recent visit of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the head of Pakistani diplomacy, to Baghdad.

Valued at a minimum of $1.1 billion, this deal is poised to become the largest arms sale in the history of Pakistan, as highlighted by Pakistan Republic.

Such an agreement, however, would need approval from the Iraqi Parliament.

The JF-17 Thunder is a Pakistani-Chinese co-production, with 42% of parts reportedly being manufactured in China, and 58% of manufacturing performed in Pakistan. It is marketed as a cost-effective option for countries seeking to bolster their air defense capabilities. Powered by the Klimov RD-33 engine of Russian design, the aircraft can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 at an altitude of 17,000 meters.

The Block III variant of the JF-17 Thunder is expected to be equipped with advanced features, including an AESA radar (active electronically scanned array), improved avionics, an IRST (Infra-red search and track) system, and an in-flight refueling boom.

Iraqi authorities were also considering the French-made Dassault Rafale fighter. On May 23, 2023, Major General Rasool, the country精东影业 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, hinted that France is one of the countries from which Iraq is considering purchasing 鈥渕odern military equipment.” It is unclear at this point whether a Rafale order is still being considered.

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• Aircraft

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The IndiGo flight 6E-1736 was on its way to Doha, Qatar, on March 11, 2023, when it was forced to divert to Jinnah International Airport (KHI) in Karachi. 

Due to political tensions between India and Pakistan there are no direct flights between the two countries.  

The IndiGo Airbus A320 left Delhi at 9:50pm and landed in Karachi about 30 minutes later when the pilot informed air traffic control that a 60-year-old passenger was unwell.聽聽

reported that the passenger was a Nigerian national and despite the aircraft being met by a medical team the passenger sadly died. 

“We are deeply saddened by the news and our prayers and wishes are with his family and loved ones,” a spokesperson for IndiGo said. 

The deceased reportedly left on the plane to Doha at 4am after Pakistani authorities handed over a death certificate. 

According to the flights between India and Pakistan restarted in July 2019 for six months before they were stopped again.聽

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• Airlines
• Aviation Economics & Finance

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Negotiations are scheduled to on October 25, 2022, according to Pakistan news channel Samaa. The delegation of Pakistan CAA, which includes the deputy director general as well as other leaders of the authority, will meet officials of the European Commission to report on measures the authority has taken to improve the level of operational safety.  

The Pakistan regulator aims to highlight the work done to pass an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit, in the hope that its airlines will regain permission to fly. 

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• Civil Aviation

byJean Carmela Lim

2022-10-21

Why is PIA banned from flying in Europe? 

PIA was added to the EU Air Safety List in July 2020, meaning the airline is suspended from operating in the European Union, due to safety concerns after the pilot license scandal and the crash of PIA PK8303 in Karachi. 

The pilot license scandal erupted following the preliminary report into the PK8303 crash, which killed 97 people on May 22, 2020.鈥疶he Airbus A320 touched down without the landing gear deployed. The crew attempted a go-around but the engines sustained damage and then failed, with the aircraft crashing short of the runway. Crew action was cited as a factor in the crash.  

An investigation by Pakistan精东影业 CAA revealed that 262 out of 860 active Pakistani pilots had cheated during mandatory pilot exams and did not actually attend them.  

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• Airlines

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Both the United States and the United Kingdom followed Europe精东影业 example and banned the airline from operating in their airspace.鈥� 

In January 2022, ICAO announced the results of a 10-day safety audit, where it confirmed that the Pakistan CAA had resolved a safety concern that resulted from a 2020 scandal regarding the fake pilot licenses. At the time, ICAO said its validation committee reviewed the action taken by Pakistan to address the Significant Safety Concern (SCC) and determined that actions taken by Pakistan精东影业 CAA had successfully resolved the issued SCC. 

The Samaa report said that the European Commission will visit Pakistan in 2023 to review the steps taken. 

In order to help Pakistan, Emirates SkyCargo started operating free of charge relief aid flights on September 2, 2022, from Dubai (DXB) to five Pakistani airports, including Karachi (KHI), Islamabad (ISB), Lahore (LHE), Peshawar (PEW), and Sialkot (SKT). 

鈥淔rom today, cargo capacity on all Emirates鈥� passenger flights to Pakistan will be available to organizations based at the world精东影业 largest humanitarian hub, International Humanitarian City (IHC), to transport critical equipment and supplies, food, and other emergency relief goods directly to the five airports,鈥� the airline精东影业 reads.  

Severe floods, resulting from heavy monsoon rains that began in June 2022, have affected the lives of around 33 million people, representing around 14% of the population in Pakistan. With around one-third of the country精东影业 territory affected, thousands of locals have their livelihoods wiped out, while over 1,100 people have died. 

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• Essential Aviation

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Speaking to National Public Radio on August 30, 2022, Sherry Rehman, Pakistan精东影业 minister for climate change, described the floods as a 鈥渕onstrous new phenomenon鈥�. 鈥淲e’ve had the superfloods of 2010. This is epic. It was much bigger than that. It was biblical. And it’s overtaken 2010 in spades and swaths,鈥� she told the .   

Pakistan精东影业 government has estimated that the country will need to allocate at least $10 billion for the clean-up and recovery process. 

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• Air Cargo

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A Pakistani military helicopter carrying a top military official has gone missing in the Lasbela district, situated in the province of Balochistan. 

Pakistan buys Chinese J-10 fighter jets to counter India精东影业 Rafale order

• Defense

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• Defense

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The order from PCCA came after Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, reported that its COVID-19 positivity ratio rose to 21% compared with a national rate of 2.8%.

Face masks on board domestic flights are mandatory again with Immediate effect.

鈥� PCAAOfficial (@official_pcaa)

The PCCA said in a statement, which it posted on Twitter: 鈥淲ith immediate effect, as communicated by National Command and Operation Center vide letter number 1-50/CDC/NIH/2022 dated June 23, 2022, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights within Pakistan. Remaining COVID-19 guidelines applicable on domestic air travel within Pakistan remain unchanged. All airline operators are hereby directed to ensure strict compliance.鈥�

In March 2022, Pakistan disbanded the National Command and Operations Center, which was overseeing the COVID response, as infections fell to the lowest since the pandemic began.

According to the National Institute of Health Islamabad the latest COVID-19 positivity rate in the country rose to 3.50% as of June 29, 2022.

COVID-19 Statistics 29 June 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 15,462
Positive Cases: 541
Positivity %: 3.50%
Deaths: 01
Patients on Critical Care: 100

鈥� NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan)

Pakistan International Airlines to launch direct flights to Sydney

• Airlines

byJean Carmela Lim

2022-03-18

The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drone has been sighted in a satellite photo in Pakistan for the first time, raising the possibility that the country is operating the aircraft. 

Imagery from Air Force Base Murid, shows a likely Baykar Bayraktar TB2 UAV onsite, range ring allows visualization of the area the drone could operate over

鈥� Damien Symon (@detresfa_)

The new flight operation was first revealed by Pakistan精东影业 Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan in .

Khan said that PIA initially plans two weekly flights between Karachi, Lahore and Sydney, with Islamabad to be added later. 

He also said that as there were no direct flights between Pakistan and Australia, it took around 35 hours to reach the country with stopovers in between.

Australia! The Wait is over! is starting direct flights between & . 鈬�
Stay Tuned for more details.

鈥� PIA (@Official_PIA)

The flight plans were later confirmed by PIA精东影业 general manager of corporate communications Abdullah Hafeez in an . 

PIA will use its fleet of Boeing 777-200LR for the Australian flights. Flight number PK-9808 will depart for Sydney from Lahore International airport on April 22, 2022, with the return flight scheduled to depart Sydney on April 24, 2022.

Based on information from Sydney International Airport精东影业 (SYD) website, PIA will use Terminal 1 at SYD.

According to the there are more than 90,000 Pakistani-born people in Australia, which is more than three times the number (27,250) recorded in June 2009.  

Pakistan International Airlines to resume flights to UK in February

• Airlines

byGabriele Petrauskaite

2022-01-18