The board of directors for airline companies set their eyes on Europe as it opened its metaphorical doors to them. This good news comes as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was finally able to comply with the safety standards of the European Union Aviation Safety Standards (EUASA) after four grueling years.

 

The ban was initially imposed due to the results of a post-crash investigation, that claimed the lives of approximately 100 people, revealing that around 40 per cent of PIA pilots were flying with forged licenses.

 

The truth is, when PIA flight 8303 crashed in Karachi, it took the whole company down with it. PIA lost the rights to fly to various high traffic destinations such as the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU), to name a few. While most bans didn’t stick, the EU remained adamant to keep PIA on its ‘blacklist’.

 

However, with the ban being reversed, PIA stands to benefit immensely from the new revenue stream. After PIA had been blacklisted, the company suffered a loss of 40 billion rupees as per Reuters. However, it will be an easy task for PIA to capture their customers back.

 

According to Geo News, ticket fares from United Kingdom to Pakistan skyrocketed by a staggering 300 per cent after PIA was banned from operating flights to the country. Airlines that could still run flights to Pakistan were able to raise prices of tickets as PIA was not around to put up any competition.

 

However, with PIA resuming flights, airfares from the EU to Pakistan are expected to drop to more reasonable levels. There is another reason behind experts predicting airfares to drop though: EUASA has allowed Air Blue to operate flights to Europe too. According to the principles of basic economics, it is evident that the increased supply of commercial flights will drive prices down.

 

Aside from the executives of airline companies, lawmakers in Islamabad are also pleased about PIA’s resumption of services. Investors were not particularly interested in purchasing a company that was crippled due to not being able to operate flights to numerous countries.

 

Financial experts certainly believe that international investors will now be more inclined to purchase PIA off of Islamabad’s hands. However, many are now wondering if it would even be worth considering PIA if the profitable routes open up again.

 

Local businesses, especially those located at popular tourist destinations, are also pleased with the reversal of the ban, expecting to see a greater number of European tourists flooding into the hotspots.

 

It is certain that the ban reversal is good for Pakistani businesses. One thing is not certain: If privatizing PIA is still the best course of action.