Latest news with #AirbusA-320
Express Tribune
26-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PIA's UK flight ban remains in place
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will remain banned from operating flights to and from the United Kingdom, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed, dashing hopes of an imminent resumption after a four-year suspension. A spokesperson for the department said, "Airlines must go through a rigorous procedure to have restrictions lifted," adding that the UK Civil Aviation Authority was in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding the issue. The UK Air Safety List includes countries and airlines that are not permitted to operate commercial flights within the UK due to safety concerns. As per the official UK government website, "All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Pakistan are banned from operating commercial air services to, from, and within the United Kingdom." This update comes just days after reports suggested that the British Air Safety Committee had discussed lifting the ban, which had raised hopes among Pakistani authorities. The ban was initially enforced in July 2020 by both UK and European aviation authorities after a major scandal revealed that dozens of Pakistani pilots were operating with fake licences. The then-aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, admitted to the issue following the tragic crash of a PIA Airbus A-320 in Karachi, which claimed nearly 100 lives. The fallout from the scandal resulted in bans across the UK, European Union, and United States, costing the loss-making airline approximately Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in lost revenue. Despite the ongoing ban in the UK, PIA marked a small milestone in January 2025 by resuming direct flights to Europe with a flight from Islamabad to Paris. PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan shared the airline's aspirations, saying that once cleared by the DfT, "London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations."
Express Tribune
25-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PIA still grounded in UK as air safety ban remains in place
Listen to article Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will remain banned from flying to and from the United Kingdom, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed on Tuesday, dashing hopes of an imminent return after a four-year hiatus. A spokesperson for the department said, 'Airlines must go through a rigorous procedure to have restrictions lifted,' adding that the UK Civil Aviation Authority was in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding the issue. The UK Air Safety List includes countries and airlines that are not permitted to operate commercial flights within the UK due to safety concerns. As per the official UK government website, 'All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Pakistan are banned from operating commercial air services to, from, and within the United Kingdom.' This update comes just days after reports suggested that the British Air Safety Committee had discussed lifting the ban, which had raised hopes among Pakistani authorities. The ban was initially enforced in July 2020 by both UK and European aviation authorities after a major scandal revealed that dozens of Pakistani pilots were operating with fake licences. The then-aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, admitted to the issue following the tragic crash of a PIA Airbus A-320 in Karachi, which claimed nearly 100 lives. The fallout from the scandal resulted in bans across the UK, European Union, and United States, costing the loss-making airline approximately Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in lost revenue. Despite the ongoing ban in the UK, PIA marked a small milestone in January 2025 by resuming direct flights to Europe with a flight from Islamabad to Paris. PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan shared the airline's aspirations, saying that once cleared by the DfT, 'London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations.'
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aborted JetBlue landing not due to another plane; FAA, airline blame instability for missed approach
A thousand times a day, JetBlue Airlines planes land safely at their destinations. But not always on the first try. Case in point: JetBlue flight 1940, arriving in Boston Sunday after a three-hour flight from Florida's Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport. Among the passengers onboard: Lynn residents Arn Conti and his wife. 'It was a great flight,' he said. 'Uneventful. I was looking out my window to the right and I could see the wing, and the ground coming up to the wing.' Conti said from his perspective the Airbus A-320 hovered maybe ten to twenty feet off the ground. But just as he was anticipating the comforting buffet of wheels hitting runway, the jet suddenly lurched back into the sky and began a hard turn left. 'It was a nice, smooth, perfect approach and all of a sudden he just went boom!' Conti said. 'Everybody was like, Oh My God, what's going on.' What was going on, according to the FAA and the airline, was a routine missed approach -- also known as a go-around. 'The airplane is essentially aborting the landing,' said Ben Sawyer, a pilot and flight instructor for ATP in Norwood. 'If the pilot deems for any reason that the landing is going to be unsafe, they'll decide to do a go-around.' Reasons for go-arounds vary, he said: 'It could be you're getting lots of gusts of wind, you're not aligned with the centerline of the runway, it could be you're coming in too fast.' Those situations create an 'unstable' approach -- that is, one that could prove dangerous if continued -- and it's the reason the pilot of JetBlue 1940 gave as his reason for the missed approach. More specifically, JetBlue told Boston 25 News wind was a factor in not allowing the pilot to get the plane on the ground fast enough. But Conti said instability was not mentioned when the pilot finally addressed passengers. 'He said, We're experiencing ground traffic.' However, the FAA told Boston 25 News no other aircraft was involved in this missed approach. Sawyer said missed approaches may be frightening to passengers -- both because they are jarring -- but also because some are associated with avoiding collisions with other aircraft -- so-called ground incursions. But he says passengers can also take some comfort in them. 'You're coming in to land, you see the ground getting closer and closer and you're thinking, okay, we're about to land and suddenly you hear the engines throttle up and you're climbing,' he said. 'Whoa! Is something wrong? But it's actually a good sign of good decision-making on the pilot's part. There's no reason to ever try to salvage an unstable approach and put people's lives at risk.' Sawyer said recent aviation incidents -- horrific as they have been -- shouldn't frighten passengers from flying. 'Just remember that aviation is still the safest form of travel that humans have ever created,' he said. 'Maybe for every time that there's a crash and something goes wrong, there are 500 times the same thing happened but the pilot executed the emergency procedures perfectly, they figured everything out and everything went right. I don't think we hear about that as much as the terrible crashes that happen.'This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
