The Islamabad crash that killed 152 people – the biggest disaster in Pakistan’s aviation history – has opened a Pandora’s box of questions about the local air industry.

The national aircraft carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has long been plagued with operational issues.

Its flights were banned by the European Union in 2007 because of concerns over safety.

These centred on an ageing fleet. The problem was highlighted in July 2006, when 45 people died in a crash on take-off in the central city of Multan.

A government investigation blamed the ageing aircraft. But critics maintained that falling standards in Pakistan’s booming airline industry were the main cause.

Officials say the Airblue plane that crashed was properly maintained

The industry saw the emergence of private airlines in the mid-1990s.

PIA had been the only domestic carrier for most of the country’s history. But that changed after the government allowed private airlines to operate.

Until 2000, however, most private airlines found it difficult to compete with the stated-funded PIA, and many folded under economic pressure.

Since then, the industry has boomed because of economic growth and a massive increase in domestic demand.

Private airlines have also started operating routes to Europe, and particulary to the UK, which has a large Pakistani community.

Maintenance

But critics say the proliferation of routes and business was not met with matching aviation and safety standards.

They say some companies do not maintain their aircraft as regularly as they should.

Concerns have been raised about Airblue.

An employee of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told the BBC that in 2008, one of Airblue’s aircraft had been grounded in Manchester in the UK – he said an inspector had noted a serious fault with the aircraft several months earlier, and the problem had not been fixed.

Raheel Ahmed, marketing general manager for Airblue, denied this and told the BBC that all aircraft in service had been listed as airworthy by the CAA.

“I have been working with Airblue for the last five years and no such incident comes to my mind. I should add that the company has the most up-to-date aircraft in Pakistan.”

There has been no suggestion of past maintenance or technical problems in connection with the aircraft that crashed in Islamabad.

Junaid Amin, the head of the CAA, said: “No aircraft with maintainance requirements can be allowed to fly by the CAA. We maintain the same international standards as those practiced worldwide.”

But former pilots and critics of the industry say the CAA does not always abide by these standards.

“There are several instances when the CAA has been at fault for technical difficulties later developed in the flight,” an experienced PIA pilot told the BBC.

“For example, the crash in 2006 was due to the plane being overweight. This was clear at the time it was deemed ready to fly – by the CAA.”

CAA investigations are generally never made public. However Aijaz Haroon, a CAA board member and head of PIA, denies that there was anything wrong with the plane.

“The 2006 crash was due to an error on the part of the pilot – he forgot to pull up the landing gear while the plane was taking off.”

Mr Haroon also says the investigation reports are sent to the pilot’s association and relevant bodies – and that members of the public can access them.

Experienced pilot

Plane safety is not the only issue – the physical ability of pilots has also been a cause of concern.

“Pilots are now forced to fly hours much in excess of those deemed as viable,” AM Rabbani, secretary general of the Pakistan Association of Airline Pilots (Palpa), says.

“This is primarily because a new regulation implemented by the CAA.”

But Mr Aijaz Haroon says the associatiom is trying to politicise the issue.

The PIA, CAA and Palpa have a long history of disputes over work-related issues.

“This is not the time for recriminations,” he says. “There is no substance at all in any of their claims.”

In addition, industry experts say the traffic-control protocols and navigation aids in Islamabad airport leave much to be desired.

“Why was the plane circling at 1,600ft when the minimum for Islamabad is 3,000ft?” a local aviation told the BBC.

At the moment, the jury remains out on which of these factors played a pivotal role in the disaster.

But what is certain is that a thorough and public investigation is needed to answer questions about the 28 July disaster.

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The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has increased fares on its flights for international routes and Umrahs which would be implemented from today.

According to sources, private airlines including the PIA have increased fares for their international routes and Umrahs due to rapidly increasing prices of oil.

After the increase, the PIA’s two-way farse for London will be Rs 58,770, for New York Rs 97,800, for Dubai Rs 25,300 and for Canada Rs 98,500.

Besides, the PIA fare for the Umrah after the increase has reached Rs 53,800.

Similarly, Saudi Airline has also increased its fare for the Umrah to Rs 57,500.

Besides, other airlines including Emirates Airlines and Thai Airlines have also increased their fares for international flights.

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Heathrow Airport Flight Information

For up-to-the-minute flight information, timetables, and flight arrivals, visit the BAA website at www.heathrowairport.com/

The following is a list of airlines currently operating regular flights out of Heathrow, and the terminals from which they operate. This information is believed up to date at time of publication, Nov 6, 2009, but again, to be sure, check the official site! If your flight is with a charter operator, you’ll need to check with them to see which terminal their flights use.

Aberdeen British Airways 5Aberdeen bmi 1Abu Dhabi British Airways 5Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways 4Abuja British Airways 5Accra British Airways 5Addis Ababa bmi 1Addis Ababa Ethiopian Airlines 3Ahmedabad Air India 3Ahmedabad Jet Airways 4Aleppo bmi 1Algiers Air Algerie 2Algiers British Airways 5Almaty bmi 1Almaty Air Astana 2Amman Royal Jordanian 3Amman bmi 1Amritsar Air India 3Amritsar Jet Airways 4Amsterdam British Airways 5Amsterdam KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 4Amsterdam bmi 1Ashkhabad Turkmenistan Airlines 3Athens Aegean Airlines 1Athens British Airways 5Athens Olympic Airlines 2Atlanta Delta Air Lines 4Atlanta British Airways 5Auckland Air New Zealand 1Bahrain British Airways 5Bahrain Gulf Air 4Baku Azerbaijan Airlines 2Baku bmi 1Baltimore British Airways 5Bandar Seri Begawan Royal Brunei Airlines 3Bangalore Kingfisher Airlines 4Bangalore British Airways 5Bangkok British Airways 3Bangkok Eva Air 3Bangkok Qantas 3Bangkok Thai Airways International 3Barcelona British Airways 3Barcelona Iberia 3Basel British Airways 5Bejing Air China 3Bejing British Airways 5Beirut MEA Middle East Airlines 3Beirut bmi 1Belfast City bmi 1Belfast International Aer Lingus 1Belgrade British Airways 5Belgrade JAT Airways 2Berlin (Tegel) British Airways 5Berlin (Tegel) Lufthansa 1Bilbao Vueling 3Bishkek bmi 1Boston American Airlines 3Boston British Airways 5Boston Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Brussels British Airways 5Brussels bmi 1Bucharest (Otopeni) British Airways 5Bucharest (Otopeni) Tarom 2Budapest British Airways 5Buenos Aires British Airways 5Cairo British Airways 5Cairo Egypt Air 3Cairo bmi 1Calgary Air Canada 3Calgary British Airways 5Cape Town British Airways 5Cape Town South African Airways 1Cape Town Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Casablanca Royal Air Maroc 2Chennai British Airways 5Chicago (O’Hare) Air India 3Chicago (O’Hare) American Airlines 3Chicago (O’Hare) British Airways 5Chicago (O’Hare) United Airlines 1Chicago (O’Hare) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Cleveland Continental Airlines 4Cologne (Bonn) Lufthansa 1Columbo Sri Lankan Airlines 4Copenhagen British Airways 5Copenhagen SAS 3Cork Aer Lingus 1Dallas/Fort Worth American Airlines 3Dallas/Fort Worth British Airways 5Damascus bmi 1Damascus Syrianair 2Dammam Saudi Arabian Airlines 3Dammam bmi 1Dar-Es-Salaam British Airways 5Delhi Air India 3Delhi British Airways 5Delhi Jet Airways 4Delhi Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Denver British Airways 5Denver United Airlines 1Detroit British Airways 4Detroit Northwest Airlines 4Dhaka Biman Bangladesh Airlines 3Doha British Airways 5Doha Qatar Airways 3Dubai Biman Bangladesh Airlines 3Dubai British Airways 5Dubai Emirates 3Dubai Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Dublin Aer Lingus 1Dublin bmi 1Dusseldorf British Airways 5Dusseldorf Lufthansa 1Edinburgh British Airways 5Edinburgh bmi 1Edmonton Air Canada 3Eindhoven KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 4Entebbe British Airways 5Frankfurt British Airways 5Frankfurt Lufthansa 1Freetown bmi 1Funchai TAP Air Portugal 2Geneva British Airways 5Geneva Swiss International Airlines 1Geneva bmi 1Gibraltar British Airways 3Glasgow British Airways 5Glasgow bmi 1Gothenburg SAS 3Grand Cayman British Airways 5Halifax Air Canada 3Hamburg British Airways 5Hamburg Lufthansa 1Hanover bmi 1Helsinki Blue1 (SAS Group) 3Helsinki British Airways 3Helsinki Finnair 3Hong Kong Air New Zealand 1Hong Kong British Airways 5Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Airways 3Hong Kong Qantas 3Hong Kong Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Honolulu United Airlines 1Houston British Airways 5Houston Continental Airlines 4Hyderabad British Airways 5Islamabad Pakistan International Airlines 3Istanbul Ataturk British Airways 5Istanbul Ataturk Turkish Airlines 3Izmir Kibris Turkish Airlines 3Jeddah Saudi Arabian Airlines 3Jeddah bmi 1Johannesburg British Airways 5Johannesburg Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Johannesburg South African Airways 1Karachi Pakistan International Airlines 3Khartoum British Airways 5Khartoum bmi 1Kiev (Borispol) British Airways 5Kiev (Borispol) bmi 1Kolkata Air India 3Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines System 4Kuwait British Airways 5Kuwait Kuwait Airways 3La Coruna Vueling 3Lagos Arik Air 2Lagos Belview Airlines 2Lagos British Airways 5Lagos Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Lahore Pakistan International Airlines 3Larnaca British Airways 5Larnaca Cyprus Airways 1Las Vegas British Airways 5Lisbon British Airways 3Lisbon TAP Air Portugal 1Los Angeles Air France 2Los Angeles Air New Zealand 1Los Angeles American Airlines 3Los Angeles British Airways 5Los Angeles United Airlines 1Los Angeles Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Luanda British Airways 5Lusaka British Airways 5Lyon British Airways 5Madrid British Airways 3Madrid Iberia 3Malaga British Airways 3Male Sri Lankan Airlines 4Malta Air Malta 4Manchester British Airways 5Manchester bmi 1Marrakech British Airways 5Mauritius Air Mauritius 3Mauritius British Airways 5Mauritius Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Melbourne Qantas 3Mexico City British Airways 5Miami American Airlines 3Miami British Airways 5Miami Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Milan (Linate) British Airways 5Milan (Malpensa) British Airways 5Milan (Linate) Alitalia 2Milan (Malpensa) Lufthansa 1Minneapolis Northwest Airlines 4Montreal British Airways 5Montreal Air Canada 3Moscow (Domodedovo) British Airways 5Moscow (Domodedovo) bmi 1Moscow (Sheremetyevo) Aeroflot 2Mumbai Air India 3Mumbai British Airways 5Mumbai Jet Airways 3Mumbai Kingfisher 4Mumbai Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Munich British Airways 5Munich Lufthansa 1Muscat British Airways 5Muscat Oman Air 3Nairobi British Airways 5Nairobi Kenya Airways 4Nairobi Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Nassau British Airways 5New York (JFK) Air India 3New York (JFK) American Airlines 3New York (JFK) British Airways 5New York (JFK) Delta Air Lines 4New York (JFK) Kuwait Airways 3New York (JFK) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3New York (Newark) British Airways 5New York (Newark) Continental Airlines 4New York (Newark) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Newcastle British Airways 5Nice British Airways 5Osaka (Kansai) Japan Airlines 3Oslo (Gardermoen) British Airways 5Oslo (Gardermoen) SAS 3Ottawa Air Canada 3Palma bmi 1Paphos Cyprus Airways 1Paris (CDG) Air France 2Paris (CDG) British Airways 5Philadelphia British Airways 5Philadelphia US Airways 1Phoenix British Airways 5Portland United Airlines 1Porto TAP Air Portugal 1Prague British Airways 5Prague CSA Czech Airlines 2Providenciales British Airways 5Raleigh-Durham American Airlines 3Reykjavik Icelandair 1Rio De Janeiro (Galeao) British Airways 5Riyadh Saudi Arabian Airlines 3Riyadh bmi 1Rome (Fiumicino) Alitalia 2Rome (Fiumicino) British Airways 5Rotterdam KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 4Salzburg bmi 1San Diego United Airlines 1San Francisco British Airways 5San Francisco United Airlines 1San Francisco Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Sanaa Yemenia Yemen Airways 2Sao Paulo TAM 4Seattle (Tacoma) British Airways 5Seattle (Tacoma) Northwest Airlines 4Seattle (Tacoma) United Airlines 1Seoul Korean Air 3Seoul Asiana Airlines 1Seville Vueling 3Seychelles Air Seychelles 2Shanghai (Pudong) China Eastern 4Shanghai (Pudong) British Airways 5Shanghai (Pudong) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Shannon Aer Lingus 1Singapore British Airways 3Singapore Qantas 3Singapore Singapore Airlines 3Sofia British Airways 5Sofia Bulgaria Air 2St Petersburg Rossiya Airlines 2St Petersburg British Airways 5Stavanger SAS 3Stockholm (Arlanda) British Airways 5Stockholm (Arlanda) SAS 3Stuttgart Lufthansa 1Stuttgart British Airways 5Sydney British Airways 3Sydney Qantas 3Sydney Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Taipei Eva Air 3Tangier Atlas Blue 2Tangier Royal Air Maroc 2Tashkent Uzbekistan Airways 2Tbilisi bmi 1Tehran Iran Air 3Tehran bmi 1Tel Aviv British Airways 5Tel Aviv El Al Israel Airlines 1Tel Aviv bmi 1Tokyo (Narita) Aeroflot 2Tokyo (Narita) All Nippon Airways 3Tokyo (Narita) British Airways 5Tokyo (Narita) Japan Airlines 3Tokyo (Narita) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Toronto Air Canada 3Toronto Air Transat 2Toronto British Airways 5Toulouse British Airways 5Tripoli Libyan Arab Airlines 2Tripoli British Airways 5Tunis Tunisair 2Vancouver Air Canada 3Vancouver British Airways 5Venice bmi 1Vienna Austrian Airlines 1Vienna British Airways 3Vigo Vueling 3Warsaw British Airways 5Warsaw LOT Polish Airlines 1Washington (Dulles) British Airways 5Washington (Dulles) United Airlines 1Washington (Dulles) Virgin Atlantic Airways 3Yerevan bmi 1Zagreb Croatia Airlines 1Zurich British Airways 5Zurich Swiss International Airlines 1

Destination	Airline	Terminal

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