Pakistan clears 95% licences of its pilots SERVING IN DIFFERENT AIRLINES IN 7 COUNTRIES

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s aviation authority has cleared 95 per cent licences of the country’s pilots serving in different airlines in seven countries, while the process of verification of the remaining will be completed next week, according to a media report on Saturday.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan disclosed in the National Assembly last month that there were 860 active pilots in the country and 260 pilots had not sat their exams themselves and almost 30 per cent of the pilots had fake or improper licence and did not have flying experience.

Shortly after the minister’s statement, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) grounded 107 pilots suspected of having fake licences and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) started verification of their licences, Dawn reported.

The aviation minister also announced that five senior officials of the CAA had been sacked over the scandal and they could be prosecuted.

The dubious’ licences issue also caught the attention of other countries and airlines where Pakistani pilots were employed, and they grounded the Pakistani pilots and asked the Aviation Division to verify their credentials included the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey and Bahrain. On Friday, Ethiopia also asked the Pakistan government to verify the licences of Pakistani pilots serving there.

The Director General of UAE’S General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Saif Mohammad Al Suwaidi, had asked CAA Director General Hassan Nasir Jamy to verify the credentials of Pakistani aircraft maintenance engineers and flight operation officers who converted their respective licences issued by the CAA, the paper said. UAE GCAA had also asked the Pakistani authorities to clarify the difference between “fake” and “suspect” cases, if any, so that they could take immediate and appropriate action in the interest of safety of flight operations.

The European Union Air Safety Agency has also announced suspension of the PIA authorisation for six months. Citing official sources, the paper said that Vietnam stopped Pakistani pilots from flying and asked the CAA for verification of 11 Pakistani pilots associated with different airlines.