Tag: fake licences

  • American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Pakistan’s safety rating to category 2, which foreign media reports say is a serious but not unexpected blow to a country with a scandal-plagued aviation sector.

    As per the details, the FAA’s decision that follows a fatal Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash in Karachi in May and more recently, the aviation minister claiming up to one-third of Pakistan’s commercial pilots hold “dubious” licenses, means that no Pakistani airlines can establish new services to the United States (US) or codeshare with US airlines.

    While the decision has effectively locked PIA out of the US, the ruling only impacts new services to the country. The national carrier does not fly across the Atlantic to the US and as far as can be ascertained, no US airline operates codeshare or interline agreements with PIA either.

    Longstanding security issues have thwarted PIA’s ambitions to access the US. While PIA had tentatively planned a service to begin between Islamabad and New York earlier this year, the downturn in travel derailed that. Now, safety issues are joining the list of concerns.

    It merits a mention that the decision on Thursday came despite Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a day earlier having to face embarrassment at the hands of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that said all commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport licences (ATPL) issued by the authority were genuine and validly issued.

    Earlier, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) had suspended PIA operations as well, while several Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines had also been grounded.

  • Six-star PIA downgraded to one star on fake licences issue

    Six-star PIA downgraded to one star on fake licences issue

    Six-star Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been downgraded to one star by AirlineRatings.com after the recent revelation of 150 fake pilot licences.

    The European Union (EU) has banned the airline from member states — costing one star –, while AirlineRatings.com has stripped the airline of three stars for the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) besides one star for the ICAO country audit.

    The rating downgrade to the lowest safety standards could further dent PIA’s business because customers will avoid travelling through it while other countries may close their airports for Pakistan’s national carrier.

    AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said, “Clearly there needs to be an investigation into possible bribery and falsifying related to the pilot licences. This is deeply disturbing as the IOSA audit and ICAO country audit should pick this up.”

    In a statement, IATA said, “We are 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. We are trying to obtain more information on the matter.”

    Earlier, PIA sacked 150 pilots over cheating on their exams in the wake of the Karachi crash of an A320 that killed 98 people in May.

    The sacking had come in the wake of the statement by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan that 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots had “fake” licences through bribing other qualified pilots to take the exams.

  • PIA pilots’ licences

    PIA pilots’ licences

    The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash in May that killed 97 out of 99 people on board is still fresh in our memories. An initial report says it was due to human error by the pilot and air traffic control. Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the pilots were distracted discussing coronavirus and as a result, the pilot initially failed to perform the landing correctly when the plane scraped at the runway the first time before taking off again. In another shocking “revelation”, the aviation minister said that 262 pilots out of 860 active ones in Pakistan have “fake licenses” which he later changed to dubious or suspicious licences. It not only made international headlines but as a result, PIA grounded 141 pilots while there also are reports of Pakistani pilots in Vietnam and some Gulf countries being grounded, subject to a review.

    On the other hand, Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association (PALPA) on Saturday denied these allegations. Head of the pilots’ union said there is no truth in these allegations. According to a detailed report in BBC Urdu, the claim by the aviation minister is incorrect and the number of pilots with dubious credentials is not as high. The minister later conceded his original stance. The report explains that the examination process, which makes for about 5 per cent of the licensing process, changed in 2012. Before 2012, pilots had to give two papers but a new model of examination was introduced by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which now requires pilots to take eight papers, mostly theoretical. It did lead to some pilots failing the exams as they were quite complicated or they didn’t get a proper understanding of the scope of exams.

    While many cleared the new examination process, some could not, so an environment evolved where it was made easy for pilots to cheat and some eagerly resorted to cheating, which included making others sit in their place to clear the exams for a few hundred thousand rupees. It is said that while pilots around the world get their commercial licences after being tested for their technical know-how and flying hours as well as a basic examination process, Pakistan’s new examination process was thought to be cumbersome for most of the pilots since it was laid out in a way that was not clear to those who were taking it.

    This is a case of moral dilemma as well as using unfair means. Being a pilot is one of the key jobs where there are extremely high expectations of moral obligation and trust. Cheating cannot be condoned at any cost nor the concept of facilitation of such unfair means. All pilots must be investigated properly and if they have resorted to shortcuts, they must be punished. That said, if the number is marginal compared to the minister’s claim, a clarification must be issued to clear the names of Pakistani pilots. Some complain that the CAA’s role in the entire process raises some red flags.

    We cannot stress enough about air safety. Hundreds of lives are at stake each time a plane takes off. The Aviation Ministry, CAA and airlines must investigate thoroughly and make their findings public. Any such inquiry must involve international stakeholders to add credibility to an embattled CAA whose own credibility is also on the line. Pilots and their bodies also need to initiate a thorough, inward-looking review process that builds trust in their own profession and shows that they are not on the wrong side of the debate.

  • PIA & 150 pilots ‘with fake licences’

    PIA & 150 pilots ‘with fake licences’

    The Supreme Court (SC) has taken notice of reports of pilots allegedly flying planes in Pakistan without licences.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed has summoned a reply from the director general (DG) of civil aviation within two weeks, directing him to explain how and why these fake licences are issued and what action is being taken against the people who issue them.

    Putting passengers’ lives at risk is a major crime, the CJP said and also summoned the heads of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Blue and Serene Air at the next hearing, directing them to submit reports verifying the licences of their respective pilots.

    PIA GROUNDS 150 PILOTS:

    In a related development, PIA announced on Thursday that it will be grounding nearly 150 out of its 426 pilots amid an inquiry that they hold “dubious” licences.

    A day earlier, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots, out of total 860 in the country, have suspicious flying licences and would be grounded immediately.

    Talking to media in Islamabad, he said licences of these pilots are dubious.

    The minister stated that there are some pilots, who did not appear in any paper but managed to get the licences.

    He informed that the government has decided that all such pilots would be issued show cause notices and charge sheets so that they could not fly any plane.

    Sarwar said criminal proceedings would also be initiated against pilots with fake licences as the government could not allow anyone to put the lives of its citizens at risk.

    The decision comes at a time when an initial inquiry into a PIA plane crash was presented before the parliament by the country’s aviation minister, who also highlighted irregularities at the national carrier.

    PIA’S REACTION TO MINISTER’S CLAIM:

    Earlier, PIA asked the Aviation Division to provide a list of all quack pilots associated with the airline.

    PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik wrote a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) DG in reference to the minister’s claim that out of 264 fake or suspicious licences, around 150 belonged to PIA pilots.

    As an operator as well as the national flag carrier, he said, “It is a grave concern for us as many out of these 150 pilots must be flying PIA aircraft, which cannot be allowed after disclosure of fake/suspicious licences scam by [the] aviation minister”.

    Arshad Malik reminded the top CAA official that he had penned a similar letter to the aviation secretary for the provision of a list of those PIA pilots having fake or suspicious licences but no response had so far been received.