US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) team visited Islamabad International Airport on Monday as PIA seeks clearance to operate non-stop flights from Pakistan to New York. Aaj News reported that the TSA team visited airport for that purpose. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had invited the US Homeland Security Department's TSA team to have Islamabad Airport security cleared for direct operations to US. In the past, none of the Pakistani airports were cleared by TSA, which is why PIA had to use mid-point TSA cleared airports Manchester or Barcelona to operate to the US.

This drove up operations costs exorbitantly and PIA has to suspend flights to USA in October 2017. With the New Islamabad International Airport and beefed up security apparatus at Islamabad (shifting resources from other parts of the country), PIA now working with TSA to get clearance for New Islamabad Airport to start direct operations to the US.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019