A High Court in Sindh has issued a contempt of court notice to the Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority (PKCAA) for its continued suspension of services to Shaheen Air International (Karachi International).

On July 16, the court had suspended a PKCAA letter dated July 13 wherein the regulator had threatened to withdraw its services from all Shaheen Air flights with the exception of domestic and Saudi routes. The PKCAA had premised its withholding of services on the airline's failure to settle a PKR1.25 billion rupee (USD10.3 million) debt.

However, the airline successfully argued in the hearing that the PKCAA was in breach of its own regulations by treating Shaheen Air more harshly than other defaulters, of which PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) is the largest. It was able to prove to the court that it had adhered "diligently" to the terms of an arrears settlement plan leading to the suspension order being withdrawn.

But despite the court's ruling, the PKCAA has continued to withhold its services from Shaheen Air leaving it to operate only select domestic flights as well as Saudi and Hajj charters. In addition, Lahore International Airport has also threatened to withhold services from the airline effective July 19.

In light of this development, the Sindh High Court issued a contempt of court notice to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan on July 21 naming its Director General, Deputy Director General, and Lahore International Airport Manager as respondents. It also overturned the Lahore Airport letter and barred the PKCAA from taking any further action against Shaheen Air.

"The civil aviation authority of Pakistan, with this step, has not only cost the airline but also to the national exchequer, billions of rupees," Zohaib Hassan, Director Marketing, Shaheen Air, said in a statement. "Despite the court order, the CAA continued with their agenda of levelling baseless allegations against SAI. Our customers flying into the country faced severe difficulties and were left stranded at airports worldwide. As per today's court orders, our international flight operations have been resumed and soon flights will be operated as per the schedule."