Most of Pakistan International Airlines’ fleet (PIA) has been banned from flying to the European Union, for safety reasons. The EU concerns focused on maintenance problems and the age of certain aircraft. A European Commission spokesman discussed the latest adjustments to a blacklist of carriers failing to meet international safety standards. “It is allowed to operate into the Community solely with its Boeing 777 aircraft. Out of a fleet of around 40 planes, this allows PIA to operate with around seven planes to the EU.”

The Commission said Thailand’s Phuket Air had been dropped from the list of banned airlines after it addressed the EU’s safety concerns. The African cargo carrier DAS. The blacklist was created in 2005, after a series of crashes around the world, with many deaths. The EU has extended a ban on Sudan’s Air West to cover its entire fleet, while removing around 50 carriers that are no longer operating.

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