KARACHI: The United States Department of Transportation has granted permission to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to conduct direct flights to the US, the airline’s spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez confirmed on Thursday. This is the first time since the inception of the national flag-carrier that it will be operating direct flights to the US. However, after the attacks, US authorities had refused permission for direct flights because of security reasons up until now, he added. In case a PIA flight is headed to the US from an airport outside Pakistan, it must obtain a security clearance from the Transportation Security Administration. Owing to security concerns, the US had not allowed any direct flight that originated from a Pakistani airport into its airspace.

Source: Pakistan Today April 30, 2020 10:07 UTC