Last week, Pakistan International Airlines failed 150 pilots with “questionable licenses”.
Islamabad:
Several international airlines, including Qatar Airways, have opened an investigation against Pakistani employees and have failed them until further notice after authorities reported that up to 262 pilots were in possession of false licenses, according to media reports.
Cash-strapped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) last week immobilized 150 pilots with “questionable licenses” after the preliminary investigation report of the Karachi plane crash on May 22 blamed the pilots and air traffic control for the tragedy that killed 97 people.
The Express Tribune, citing sources, reported on Sunday that Kuwait Air had ground down seven Pakistani pilots and 56 engineers, while Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Vietnam Airlines compiled lists of pilots, engineers and personnel. Pakistan stopover assistance.
They said the employees whose names are on the lists will remain anchored until a report is received from the Pakistani authorities, he added.
The national standard-bearer has written to foreign missions and to global safety and regulatory agencies, assuring them that he has grounded the 141 pilots suspected of disloyal licensing, a spokesman said on Saturday. of the PIA, according to the report.
Signed by PIA CEO Arshad Malik, the letter was sent to all heads of foreign missions in Pakistan as well as to international aviation regulators and safety oversight agencies, the spokesman said.
Pakistani Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar said last week that the government had asked various commercial airlines, flying clubs and charter companies to assign a total of 262 pilots until the investigation of their qualifications was completed. finished, he added.
The action was prompted by the preliminary report on the PIA plane crash in Karachi last month, which revealed that the pilots had not followed standard procedures. Global security and transportation organizations have expressed concern over the so-called “questionable” licenses and said they are investigating the matter.
Malik also briefed the aviation ministry on flight safety measures.
The 262 pilots – 109 commercial pilots and 153 air transport pilots – were immobilized Friday, pending the conclusion of investigations against them. They included 141 from PIA, nine from Air Blue, 10 from Serene Airline and 17 from Shaheen Airlines, which closed, the report said.
The Aviation Minister said the decision to fail the pilots would help allay global concerns and show that the wrongdoing had been corrected. He added that five aeronautical officials had also been suspended for encouraging the suspected pilots.
The pilot qualification investigations began after a forced landing in 2018 during which it was found that the date of the test on the license of the pilot involved was on a public holiday – suggesting that this was wrong because the tests could not have taken place that day.
This led to the failure of 16 PIA pilots in early 2019.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) requires pilots to pass all eight papers to become fully qualified, after completing at least 1,500 hours of commercial flight. The minister said 28 of the pilots have already been found illegitimate, the report added.
On May 22, the domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed into a residential area near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
The carrier’s Airbus A320 plane had 91 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed in the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just minutes before it landed. A girl died on the ground after being burned.
Two passengers miraculously survived the accident.
