Pakistani government orders safety checks on private airlines
The Pakistani government has ordered all planes operated by private airlines to undergo a new safety inspection days after a crash near the capital killed 127 people.
The Bhoja Air crash on Friday was the second in Pakistan in less than two years involving a private Pakistani airline.
In both cases, the planes went down in bad weather as they approached the main airport in Islamabad.
The planes operated by private airlines will be inspected one by one, and any aircraft that fail will be grounded, Pakistani defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar told state TV.
Planes currently in operation will be allowed to fly as they await inspection, he said.
Bhoja Air, the airline involved in Friday’s crash, was founded about 10 years ago but closed in 2000 due to financial difficulties. It was re-launched last year.
It is still unclear what caused the crash on Friday but investigators are combing the wreckage of the passenger plane.
In July 2010 an Airblue flight, also flying from Karachi, crashed near Islamabad killing all 152 on board.
By Diane Evans
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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