Saudi aviation team to audit security at seven Pakistani airports in August

Karachi: A team of SaPdi aviation experts is scheduled to carry out a comprehensive security assessment of seven major airports across Pakistan in August, according to a spokesperson from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).

The audit will include airports in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan. PCAA spokesperson Shahid Qadir confirmed the details of the upcoming security review.

Shahid Qadir said the director-general of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has approached Pakistan’s DG PCAA, Nadir Shafi Dar, to conduct the aviation security audit.

“A Saudi aviation security team will visit Pakistan in the coming month and will conduct this audit in August and onwards,” Qadir told.

The Saudi aviation team is coordinating closely with the PCAA’s Directorate of Aviation Security (AvSec), which will host the visiting delegation, Qadir said. The PCAA’s director general has designated the AvSec director to oversee the audit process, he added.

This represents the second security audit conducted by Saudi aviation authorities, following their initial assessment of Pakistan’s aviation security measures in 2023. The Saudi team subsequently expressed approval of Pakistan’s aviation security protocols, which encompass collaboration among multiple entities including the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA), the Airport Security Force (ASF), airlines, cargo handlers, and catering services.

This development coincides with notable improvements in Pakistan’s civil aviation sector, which has seen progress in international benchmarks. After restructuring the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and enacting the Civil Aviation Authority Act, Pakistan attained an overall score of 86.73% in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP).

According to the PCAA, this score surpasses the global average of 71% and India’s 73%.

Meanwhile, a two-member team from the United Kingdom’s Department for Transport (DfT) commenced an aviation security review of Islamabad International Airport on Tuesday. Accompanied by a representative from the British High Commission, the team will evaluate airport security procedures, catering services, and flight operations during their three-day assessment.

“All aviation security stakeholders, including PAA officials, ASF personnel and representatives from PIA, British Airways, Air Blue, Kitchen Cuisine, Ras Menzies and others attended the initial briefing,” a PCAA handout said.

The PCAA said Pakistan has previously performed well in the UK’s DfT audits, saying that officials are optimistic about the outcome of the latest assessment.

The PCAA said its director general has also initiated engagement with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in pursuit of direct flight operations to the US.

The development follows Pakistan’s national carrier resuming flights to Europe in January after the European aviation safety agency lifted its four-year ban on the airline.

Pakistan International Airlines has also approached UK authorities for permission to resume its services to the country.

PIA was banned by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), UK and the US after Pakistan opened an investigation into the validity of pilots’ licenses following a PIA plane crash in Karachi in May 2020 that killed 97 people.