PIA names company's senior executive as acting CEO

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) named one of the company's senior executive as its acting CEO on Thursday as it prepares to resume flights to Europe following the lifting of a ban. 

A spokesperson of PIA said on Sunday the airline aims to resume flights to Europe within the next three to four weeks, starting with Paris, after the ban imposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was lifted. 

The airline needs to appoint a permanent CEO. In the interim, it issued a statement on Thursday saying Khurram Mushtaq, previously head of PIA's Commercial, Airport Services, Flight Services, Security and Vigilance departments, would "take charge of the office after the tenure of Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat comes to an end".

It did not specify when that was.

In 2020, the EASA suspended PIA's authorisation to operate in the European Union because of concerns about the ability of Pakistani authorities and its Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to ensure compliance with international aviation standards.

The UK also suspended permission for PIA to operate in the region after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots' licences following a plane crash that killed 97 people.

PIA and the government, which aims to sell a 60% stake in the carrier, had urged the EASA to lift the ban that cost the airline Rs40 billion ($144 million) annually in revenue.

The loss-making national carrier has a 23% stake in Pakistan's domestic aviation market, but a lack of direct flights means its 34-plane fleet cannot compete with Middle Eastern carriers that hold a 60% market share.

A failed attempt to privatise the airline in October received a single offer, well below its asking price.