The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended its 32 member countries not to schedule Pakistani pilots with fraud licenses for flight operations. In a letter, EASA recommended aviation authorities to consider suspension of validations issued against Pakistani licences. It said that “approximately 40% of airline pilot licences issued by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) are either falsified or not ICAO compliant.”
As Europe slowly eases border restrictions, external borders opening from July 1 will not be allowing travelers from Pakistan, US, Russia, Brazil and Qatar. Some 47 countries are on the draft list of acceptable countries; travellers from 54 nations are likely still to be barred. The criteria are based on the “epidemiological situation and the response to COVID-19 in the third country”.