Islamabad: Criticising the delay in initiating an inquiry into and cancelling the licences of fake pilots rostered with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has demanded swift action against the culprits so that stigma on the national airline can be removed at the earliest.
Abbasi, who himself had been a pilot and possesses a pilot’s licence for the last 43 years, while addressing a news conference wondered why the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was taking so long in serving show-cause notices to those pilots who had been grounded over allegations of using unfair means to pass their written exams to procure pilot’s licences.
‘40 per cent Pakistan pilots have fake licences’
On June 24, the Federal Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, while presenting the preliminary report on the May 22 crash of a PIA plane in Karachi, made a statement in the National Assembly that almost 40 per cent of the pilots in Pakistan had fake licences.
Out of 860 pilots registered with CAA, 262 had manipulated their professional exam results by impersonating, the minister further said.
He gave further details that 121 had impersonated for one paper; 39 for two papers; 21 for three papers; 15 for four papers; and 11 for five of their papers, while 34 pilots had manipulated in the exams for all eight papers, the minister had revealed.
CAA yet to verify allegations
Since the preliminary findings were made public and the minister made a statement, CAA had not initiated any action against those pilots to verify charges of manipulation and unfair practises in exams.
Abbasi, who headed the PIA and another private airline in the past, said: “CAA should immediately constitute a Board of Inquiry and issue show-cause notices to these 262 pilots,” he demanded. As per law, this needs to be adhered to within a 30-day period. CAA, as the regulator, had conducted those exams and the Director General CAA has the authority to suspend the licence of a pilot. For cancellation of a licence, a recommendation needs to be sent to the federal government.
Pakistan aviation sector’s credibility at stake
According to Abbasi, Pakistan’s aviation sector was once considered one of the most reliable in the world, but now its credibility is at stake. He said if immediate action is not taken to rectify the situation, the entire aviation industry could be in serious trouble and might cause a loss of billions of rupees in taxes. The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom have already barred Pakistani commercial planes from entering their airspace. The EU Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended PIA’s authorisation to fly for six months, he said.
More than 50 Pakistani pilots have approached me, he claimed, adding that they were qualified and were working with various foreign airlines. “They all are worried, as the allegations against the pilots have brought a bad name to the country,” said Abbasi.