The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) Sunday rejected the European Union Aviation Security Company’s (EASA) advisory warning airways to not fly beneath FL 260 altitude whereas flying over Lahore and Karachi, including that the nation’s airspace is “utterly secure” for all business flights.
“EASA has not knowledgeable Pakistan of any menace to European airways,” the CAA spokesperson mentioned.
In an advisory yesterday, EASA warned airways of violent non-state actor teams in Pakistan and confirmed they possessed anti-aviation weaponry.
“There’s a continued potential menace to civil aviation leading to a excessive threat to operation at altitudes beneath FL 260,” its Sunday advisory learn.
In the meantime, the Plane Homeowners Operators Affiliation (AOOA) additionally reacted strongly to this directive, demanding that or not it’s withdrawn.
AOOA Founder Imran Aslam Khan described the directions of EASA as “irresponsible” and mentioned that totally different airways fly to and from Pakistani airports every single day.
“EASA ought to monitor the European airspace. After the Ukraine-Russia pressure, the European airspace will not be secure for planes, and plenty of airways have modified their routes,” he mentioned, lashing out on the European company.
In its advisory yesterday, EASA advised European airways they need to watch out whereas flying over Karachi and Lahore.
It warned that there’s a threat of being hit by anti-aircraft weapons and missiles, advising pilots to fly at 26,000 toes to keep away from hazard.
It additional suggested air operators to contemplate this and every other related data in their very own threat assessments, alongside any accessible steerage or instructions from their nationwide authority as acceptable.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the primary time the company issued such an advisory. An analogous advisory was issued in November final yr, which beneficial that each one operators train “excessive warning” when flying over the nation and never flying beneath 24,000 toes.
Then and now, EASA has not referred to any particular menace of assault making use of to flights into, out of or inside Pakistan.
The protection company, on its web site, mentioned that it is a impartial physique that ensures confidence in secure air operations in Europe and worldwide by proposing and formulating guidelines, requirements, and steerage; by certifying plane, components, and tools; and by approving and overseeing organisations in all aviation domains.