The British Transport Security department has “postponed and cancelled” the 3Ds trials at Islamabad International airport. The First Secretary and Aviation Security Liaison Officer at British High Commission Islamabad told Pakistan International Airlines that “British High Commission Islamabad would like to confirm that the 3DS trial at Islamabad airport this week has been cancelled and postponed due to logistic and resourcing issues.” But PIA sources say the real issue is “uncertainty”.
- Air Sial to add Airbus A320s into its fleet, adds flights to Riyadh
- Indigo flight from Jeddah diverted to Karachi after a medical emergency, a passenger was found dead upon checkup
- Caretaker Government of Pakistan plans to “gradually shut down” Pakistan International Airlines
- Zara Airways: The story of an airline on paper that dreams of starting flights from Canada to Pakistan
- Ethiopian Airlines resumes flights to Karachi after 19 years
A senior PIA official on condition of anonymity told Pakistan Aviation that “they cancelled their security check because they say there is too much uncertainty in PIA and they say after the current management, the security system would again need to be reevaluated”.
On the other hand, the secretary Aviation Division said that “it was encouraged by British Airways’ decision to resume flight operations”. Secretary Aviation, Hassan Nasir Jami said this in a meeting with the Director Safety and Security British Airways (BA), John Monks. British Airways’ officials were visiting Pakistan to “review the BA operations, largely from the security perspective six months after the inaugural flight”.
It is important to mention here that the UK has recently softened travel advisory for Pakistan due to security improvements in Pakistan. Restoration of British Airways has played an important role in softening of the travel advisory. The meeting was also attended by David Craig, International Risk Advisor for British Airways.