Dhaka, Oct. 26 -- Pakistan's state-owned airline resumed direct flights to Britain on Saturday, after UK authorities had ended a five-year suspension imposed over aviation safety concerns.

The debt-ridden flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was barred from flying to Britain, the European Union and the United States in June 2020, a month after one of its Airbus A320 aircraft plunged into a Karachi neighbourhood, killing nearly 100 people. The deadly crash was blamed on human error.

Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July after concluding that aviation safety standards were "satisfactory and in line with international norms".

At a ceremony Saturday at Islamabad International Airport, Pakistan's Defence Mi...