PIA flight departs from Islamabad for Paris, ending 4-year EU ban

Pak­istan International Airlines (PIA) finally resumed flights to Europe on Friday, after a four-and-a-half-year ban was lifted by EU regulators.

A flight of the state-owned airline, plagued by a history of deadly crashes and a pilot licence scandal, took off from Islamabad at around 12:40pm heading for Paris, AFP journalists saw, becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union.

“This is the first time I am travelling with PIA,” said passenger Shumaila Rana...