EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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Abbas Ali
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EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

Post by Abbas Ali »

According to Abb Takk news channel, European Union (EU) and USA have suspended PIA Cargo service for security reasons.

Probably cargo items carried by PIA scheduled passenger flights originating from Pakistan do not undergo scanning process standard required by EU and USA.

Talks are being held with EU and USA on this issue and hope that it will be resolved, according to a PIA spokesperson.

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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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According to following news report, actually EU has stopped PIA flights from carrying cargo items from Pakistan and this has also affected cargo items transported by the airline from Pakistan to USA via Europe. PIA operates flights from Pakistan to New York via United Kingdom.
EU bans PIA flights carrying cargo

By Bhagwandas

KARACHI:
The European Union (EU) has stopped Pakistan International Airlines from bringing cargo to the member states owing to security concerns, it is learnt here reliably.

According to the highly placed sources, the ban will also leave the national flag carrier unable to carry the cargo for the United States. Though there is no restriction on PIA from the US authorities, the airline is not allowed to fly directly from Pakistan to the US and all Pakistan International Airlines flights going to the US have to land at European airports first for checking before restarting their journey for the US.

Responding to Dawn queries, PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar said the ban was imposed owing to security concerns by the United Kingdom only, but as the UK is a member of the European Union all the EU countries would observe this ban and would not allow the PIA aircraft to carry cargo there.

He said a communication had been received to this effect from the UK’s Transportation Department on Monday.
Source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1122276/eu-ban ... ying-cargo

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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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Abbas Ali wrote:According to following news report, actually EU has stopped PIA flights from carrying cargo items from Pakistan and this has also affected cargo items transported by the airline from Pakistan to USA via Europe. PIA operates flights from Pakistan to New York via United Kingdom.
EU bans PIA flights carrying cargo

By Bhagwandas

KARACHI:
The European Union (EU) has stopped Pakistan International Airlines from bringing cargo to the member states owing to security concerns, it is learnt here reliably.

According to the highly placed sources, the ban will also leave the national flag carrier unable to carry the cargo for the United States. Though there is no restriction on PIA from the US authorities, the airline is not allowed to fly directly from Pakistan to the US and all Pakistan International Airlines flights going to the US have to land at European airports first for checking before restarting their journey for the US.

Responding to Dawn queries, PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar said the ban was imposed owing to security concerns by the United Kingdom only, but as the UK is a member of the European Union all the EU countries would observe this ban and would not allow the PIA aircraft to carry cargo there.

He said a communication had been received to this effect from the UK’s Transportation Department on Monday.
Source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1122276/eu-ban ... ying-cargo

Abbas
When will PIA stop telling lies? UK and EU laws and bans are two different things. If its just UK banning things, it does not apply to rest of the EU unless approved by EU parliament. EU bans, however, are enforced in all member states. In other words a single member state can not implement anything in a wider EU region without EU approval. There is more to this story than PIA telling us.
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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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PIA hopeful of resuming cargo service to the EU

By Saad Hasan

Published: August 3, 2014

KARACHI:
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is hoping to receive the validation that will allow it to resume cargo service to Europe, which was suspended on July 28, officials told The Express Tribune.

The national carrier says it is confident about getting the mandatory clearance as it has spent months putting in place relevant systems and procedures to comply with tough European Union conditions, said Director Flight Safety and Quality Assurance Captain Salman Azhar.

“It was not our fault at all,” he said following his return from England where he held a detailed meeting on the matter. “This temporary restriction wouldn’t have been imposed in the first place if the validation had been done on time. We’re hoping that the validation officials will visit at least one of the stations within a week.”

PIA is the only Pakistani airline operating cargo service to Europe. It runs cargo operations from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on its Boeing 777 and Airbus 310 jets.

The airline found itself caught up in a tough regulation called Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country (ACC3), which required carriers to take certain security screening measures by July 31, 2014.

ACC3, which came in wake of the October 2010 attempt to fly explosives hidden in a printer cartridge from a Middle Eastern state, has also placed countries in three separate categories.

“There is a Green category, which includes countries that do not need validation. Then there is the White category, which includes most. Unfortunately, Pakistan is placed in the high-risk Red category. So we are under a very close watch,” said Azhar.

In compliance with the regulation, PIA has installed dual view scanners, explosive trace detectors (ETDs) and deployed dogs trained in identifying explosives.

The two-step validation is done by IATA approved Independent Validators. A pre-validation inspection has already cleared PIA to run cargo service to the EU.

“The validation is good for ten years. We are now just trying to minimise the loss by getting the process done as quickly as possible,” said Azhar. “Interestingly, we are in compliance with the US and Canadian regulations.”

Temporary suspension of PIA’s cargo service came on the heels of a deadly attack on Karachi airport that raised concerns over aviation security.

But authorities have increased security measures in recent weeks by deploying trained and well-equipped guards around all international airports and enhancing the screening of vehicles, passengers and their attendants.

PIA generates around Rs2 billion from its cargo operations to the EU.

Source: tribune.com.pk
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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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“It was not our fault at all,”
#-o

Priceless...
Only in Pakistan. :roll:
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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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According to PTV News, European Union (EU) has lifted restriction on transportation of cargo items by PIA flights from Pakistan. The decision was made after inspection visit made by an inspection team.

From today, PIA will resume transportation of cargo items from Pakistan on airline's flights to EU member countries.

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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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EU Lifts Temporary Ban on PIA Cargo Shipments

Karachi, August 28, 2014:
European Union (EU) has removed temporary cargo ban restriction that was imposed on PIA Cargo shipments to Europe. PIA spokesman said here on Thursday. The decision has been taken after satisfactory examination and approval by EU inspection team.

The airline has now resumed its cargo shipments to EU, PIA spokesman concluded.

Source: PIA Press Release (August 28, 2014)
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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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PIA Obtains EU ACC3 Status

According to PTV News, PIA has obtained ACC3 Status enabling the airline to carry mail and cargo items from Pakistan to European Union (EU) member states. The airline will now also be able to carry mail and cargo items from Pakistan to New York via EU member states.

PIA obtained this status after acquiring new machines and training its personnel.

Initially the EU ACC3 Status was obtained for PIA Lahore station some two and a half months ago. The status was obtained by the airline for Karachi and Islamabad stations some five days ago.

Earlier, restrictions were imposed on carriage of mail and cargo items on PIA flights to EU member states.

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Re: EU and USA Suspend PIA Cargo Service

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EU ACC3

EU security requirements for incoming air cargo & mail


In response to the October 2010 incidents and the risk of explosive devices being introduced into the secure supply chain, the EU Commission reviewed its aviation security legislation. In August 2011, new EU regulations were adopted for the security of incoming air cargo and mail.

Go to the EC new regulations

Status as of Mid 2014

The deadline of 1 July 2014 has passed without any major incident being reported to IATA CEIV. That is not to say all carriers are compliant: some of them may have been able to gain a temporary ACC3 designation (an extension) for up to 6 months for “objective reasons”. Any non-compliant carriers are encouraged to urgently contact their allocated EU appropriate authority and/or the IATA CEIV before the authorities contact them to regularize their situation.

The IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) invites carriers facing difficulties in regularizing their situation with authorities to inform CEIV, who will support them in this process.

Regulations for airlines applicable since February 2012

The regulations applicable since February 2012 are focused on air carriers as opposed to foreign states or foreign airports. They require air carriers flying cargo and/or mail into the EU from non-EU countries to:

* Ensure that certain standards for security are met prior to the loading of cargo or mail onto an aircraft bound to the EU

* Be designated as an “Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport” (ACC3)

Obtaining the ACC3 status

To obtain ACC3 status, the air carrier must deliver a “Declaration of Commitments” setting out in details how it operationally delivers its security responsibilities to the civil aviation authorities of the EU member state it flies cargo and/or mail to. The template for the Declaration of Commitments is set out in the EU Regulations.

The Declaration of Commitments must cover every non-EU airport from which cargo or mail is flown to the EU, with one exception: air carriers flying cargo or mail direct from a “Green” listed country into the EU. The Green list is set down in confidential EU regulations and is available to air carriers on request to their allocated EU member state of reference.

IATA's CEIV helps the industry to meet the new regulations by providing training, advice and support.

Independent validators

ACC3s are obliged to ensure that cargo and mail destined for the EU is screened or comes from a secure supply chain (this can be evidenced with a Consignment Security Declaration).

Since 1 July 2014, the EU regulations state that ACC3’s must be in possession of security verifications of their cargo and mail operations at the relevant non-EU airports. This verification activity must be undertaken by an independent validator, certified by an EU regulator. Check the IATA Aviation Security Independent Validators training to position yourself to become one.

If the ACC3 validated carrier wishes to have the security controls applied by a business partner such as known consignors, regulated agents or ground handlers at non-EU airports, these entities will also have to undergo independent validation, either as part of the carrier's accreditation or in their own right.

Source: iata.org
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