Karachi, Sep 8 (IANS): A team of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which arrived in in Karachi for a week-long visit, started the audit of different departments of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Sources said the four-member audit team comprised two English men, a Turkish expert and a European national, reports Dawn news.

The team held a meeting on Monday morning and then visited the cargo area of Karachi airport.

They carried out a comprehensive visit of the airport apron/ramp area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded.

The sources said the audit team also sought the record of the PIA's engineering section and other relevant documents.

The team is expected to carry out inspection of a PIA's flight arriving from Islamabad or Lahore.

The IATA had designed the audit programme in 2003 to assess operational management and control systems of the airlines.

After the audit, the airlines are given an operational clearance certificate.

The IATA carries out operational safety audit every two years.

The last audit of PIA was carried out in 2018.