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KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended its flights to Canada from this month, the airline said on Saturday, citing ‘necessary maintenance’ of its aircraft.

The step was taken for the maintenance of the PIA’s Boeing 777 long-range aircraft, which cross the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Pakistani flag carrier.

These aircraft are capable of flying continuously for 17 hours without stopping.

“The two long-range aircraft will undergo a three-week technical inspection and replacement of parts, which is inevitable after every ten years,” PIA said in a statement.

“The aim of the aircraft repairs at this time is to fully prepare them before the expected passenger rush in the coming month.”

The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused to its passengers but said their safety and complete fitness of the aircraft was its top priority.

Last month, PIA announced it would be scaling back operations to France by suspending its Lahore–Paris flights in mid-September, adding the move was linked to planned resumption of services to the United Kingdom (UK).

PIA resumed flights to Europe in January after a four-and-a-half-year ban on the airline was lifted by European regulators. The airline had begun two weekly flights between Lahore and Paris on June 18.

“The Lahore–Paris route is not being permanently closed but has been temporarily suspended to prioritize operations to the United Kingdom (UK) as passenger demand is currently low during the lean season,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said, adding the airline is expected to resume UK flight operations by mid-October.

Debt-ridden PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a residential neighborhood in Karachi, killing nearly 100 people.

The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the PIA pilot licenses were fake or dubious.

In Nov. last year, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) announced lifting the ban on PIA, while the UK removed Pakistan from its ‘Air Safety List’ on July 16, paving the way for Pakistani airlines to apply for permits to resume UK flights.

A team of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday concluded a weeklong assessment of Pakistan’s aviation safety system in Karachi, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said. Islamabad hopes the review will pave the way for the resumption of direct flights to America after five years.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, the world’s fourth-largest rice exporter, expects its yield to remain strong this year despite devastating floods that have submerged large swathes of farmland, the head of the country’s rice exporters’ association said on Friday, dismissing reports of catastrophic crop losses.

The country’s rice exports have been steadily rising, with Pakistan shipping around 6 million tons in the last fiscal year and earning over $3.2 billion in revenue, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The sector is vital to the national economy, providing livelihoods to millions of farmers and contributing significantly to GDP.

The Pakistan Business Forum, a national platform for economic and policy dialogue, recently claimed the floods had wiped out 60% of the rice crop, but the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) strongly rejected the figure.

“Out of 12.2 million acres under cultivation, we expect at least 12 million acres of crop size this year,” Malik Faisal, the association’s chairman, told Arab News, suggesting losses of about 200,000 acres.

He called the 60% loss estimate “absolutely absurd,” noting that Sindh, Pakistan’s main rice-producing province and the backbone of non-Basmati exports, had largely escaped flood damage.

While acknowledging losses in Punjab, the agricultural heartland and center of Basmati cultivation, Faisal estimated damage at only around 10%.

“Even if we lose 10% of the crop, we still have 20% more cultivation than last year, which means overall production will be higher,” he said.

Pakistan, which supplies premium Basmati rice to Europe and is increasingly targeting the US market, expects to export up to 8 million tons this year after meeting domestic demand. Faisal said the country remained on track to become the world’s third-largest rice exporter within five years.

On the ground, however, the picture is more mixed. Dr. Shoukat Ali, a professor at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, estimated that crops in at least 140 villages in Punjab have been destroyed. Farmers have also been reporting personal losses.

“I lost my entire rice crop on 117 acres of land. What can I do? It’s God’s will,” said Asadullah Rizwan, a grower from Wazirabad district.

Another farmer from the same area, Furqan Ahmad, said he lost his cow and five acres of rice.

However, economists urge caution in making early predictions.

“As the water recedes one will come up with better estimates,” said Abid Qayyum Sulehri of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. “Initial reports suggest damage to between 600,000 and 700,000 acres, though some business councils have estimated losses as high as 20%.”

Rice is Pakistan’s second-most important staple after wheat, contributing about 3% of agricultural value-added and 0.6% of GDP.

Exports hit $3.2 billion last year, led by strong sales to the Middle East, Africa and China, where shipments surged 84% in the first half of 2025.

Despite challenges, Faisal insisted this year’s crop will be one of the largest in Pakistan’s history.

“Last year, we had a crop area under cultivation for 11.2 million acres. Out of that, we could only get production from 9.7 million acres,” he said.

This year cultivation has risen to 12.2 million acres, he continued, with healthy output expected from about 12 million acres, and maximum damage predicted at only around 10%, meaning the harvest should still exceed previous year’s.

“Pakistan’s rice crop is staying unharmed,” he said. “We will have a larger crop and a larger export turnover this year.”

However, flood-driven supply concerns have already pushed Basmati prices up by around $50 per ton.

Competition from India, Thailand and Vietnam could tighten margins further, especially as international rice prices hover at 20-year lows.

“Pakistan’s rice sector will keep growing,” Faisal said optimistically. “We will, inshallah, become the third-largest exporter in a matter of five years.”