International body expresses concern over ‘serious lapse’ by PIA and CAA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday expressed concern over the ‘serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator’ in Pakistan. The international body’s comments came after the federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan in the National Assembly declared that 150 pilots of the national flag carrier had fake licences.

Amid the aviation crisis, the PIA management decided to ground 150 (one-third of its) pilots and started relieving them from flight rosters for allegedly possessing ‘dubious licences’, while asking the CAA to urgently provide the list of all those PIA pilots who allegedly had fake/suspicious commercial pilot licences.

The aviation minister’s claim had put the PIA and CAA credibility at stake, as the vibes from international media had made the national flag carrier a laughing stock.

Source: Dawn