At least 150 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots were grounded over “dubious licenses”, the national flag-carrier said Thursday, a day after the preliminary report of the Karachi plane crash blamed the pilots and the air traffic control (ATC) for the incident.
A PIA spokesperson said pilots who get their licenses verified would be allowed back on duty. “Grounding so many pilots will affect the PIA flight operation,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added they had already dismissed six pilots with fake degrees. “We have asked the Civil Aviation Authority to send the list of the remaining licenses.
“We acknowledge the report and are working on making our standard better,” the spokesperson said.
In a letter to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), the PIA chairperson requested the aviation authority for details of the remaining pilots with dubious and fake commercial licenses.
“Action will be taken against all those pilots with fake licenses,” the PIA chairperson said, adding that the airline would take all necessary steps to make the commercial operation safe.
Commenting on the development, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it was “following reports from Pakistan regarding fake pilot licences, which are concerning and represent a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator”.
The IATA spokesperson added that the organisation was seeking more information.
Earlier, the national carrier had acknowledged the preliminary report of the last month’s plane crash in Karachi that left 97 people dead, saying that it would ground all pilots with “dubious licenses”.
“PIA acknowledges the AAIB report and have already taken measures learning from it. An independent Flight Data Monitoring setup established to monitor and analyse all flights,” the PIA wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
“All pilots with dubious licenses will be grounded.
“Safety is more important than any commercial interest,” the national flag bearer had added.
