Fake pilot: US bans Pakistan International Airlines flights
Islamabad: Amid recent revelation about fake licence possessed by certain Pakistani pilots, the United States has stopped operation of special flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), media reports said.
Sources in the US told Dawn News that the decision was based on an official Pakistani statement saying a number of PIA pilots could be possessing dubious licences/credentials.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) expressed concern over flight safety and revoked the special permission granted to PIA to operate special flights to and from the United States, reported the Pakistan newspaper.
“This revocation is effective immediately,” an email sent to the Pakistani authorities said as quoted as Dawn News.
The action followed “recent events identified by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority that are of serious concern to aviation safety,” the DOT notification as reported by Dawn News.
A PIA spokesperson reacted to the US decision to Dawn News and described it as a “setback to the carrier”.
The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the authorisation for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in Europe for six months, media reports said.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority also suspended PIA flight operations from three airports.
These airports are Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester.
"Following the decision on 30 June 2020, by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to suspend permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate services to the European Union, PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester airports are suspended with immediate effect," UK Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
"The UK Civil Aviation Authority is required under law to withdraw PIA's permit to operate to the UK pending EASA's restoration of their approval that it meets international air safety standards," it said.
"We are reviewing a request by EASA to allow a small number of repatriation flights operated by PIA to commence over the coming days. These will only be approved should EASA be assured by the safety cases of these flights and that the flight crew operating the aircraft have the correct documentation," read the statement.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has claimed that around 40 per cent of the pilots in the country have fake flying licences.
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