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    Pakistan's closest ally in SE Asia ground Pak-origin pilots over fake licence scam

    Synopsis

    Pakistan has a total of 860 pilots, 107 of whom work for foreign airlines. Countries have started grounding Pakistan pilots. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has also suspended Pakistan International Airlines entry into EU for six months.

    Pakistan---BCCL
    Pakistan International Airlines has been downgraded to a one-star airline by AirlineRatings.com after the recent revelation of fake pilot licenses.
    NEW DELHI: Malaysia, Pakistan’s closest ally in SE Asia and one of its close partners in OIC, has temporarily suspended pilots employed by its airlines who hold Pakistani licences, after Islamabad revealed that many pilots had dubious qualifications, according to media reports.

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) said in a statement on Thursday that the decision came after an evaluation of all foreign pilots in Malaysia. The regulator told Reuters that there are less than 20 Pakistani pilots in the country.
    CAAM said the pilots were employed with “local operators”, such as flying schools, flying clubs and training organisations, according to the Reuters report.

    Pakistan has a total of 860 pilots, 107 of whom work for foreign airlines. Countries have started grounding Pakistan pilots.

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has also suspended Pakistan International Airlines entry into EU for six months.

    Pakistan International Airlines has been downgraded to a one-star airline by AirlineRatings.com after the recent revelation of fake pilot licenses.

    AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said, “clearly there needs to be an investigation into possible bribery and falsifying related to the pilot licenses.”

    “This is deeply disturbing as the IOSA audit and ICAO country audit should pick this up,” Thomas said.

    In a statement, IATA said; “We are following reports from Pakistan regarding fake pilot licenses, which are concerning and represent a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator. We are trying to obtain more information on the matter.”

    Pakistan International Airlines has sacked 150 pilots in the wake of the Karachi crash of an A320 that killed 98 people in May.

    Pakistan Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has admitted that 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots had “fake” licenses.


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