GILGIT: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed it’s regular flights to Gilgit on ATR after the Civil Aviation Authority temporarily grounded the entire fleet of ATR aircraft for detailed check ups.
“Good News: One ATR-42 aircraft has been cleared in shakedown test,” tweeted PIA spokesperson Danyal Gilani on Thursday evening.
“Flights from Islamabad to Gilgit and Chitral would now be made operational,” he added.
Flights to Giligt-Baltistan and northern areas were suspended shortly after flight PK-661, flying from Chitral to Islamabad crashed in a hillside in Havelian on December 7 killing all 47 people on board including the former iconic pop star turned evangelist Junaid Jamshed and DC Chitral Osama Warraich. Subsequently, the CAA had grounded all 10 ATR-42 aircraft of PIA.
It is pertinent to mention that, to solve the crisis, the federal government had directed PIA to use C-130 Hercules transport planes of the PAF for the flights to Northern Areas.
