ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has grounded 141 pilots it found to have used unfair means in obtaining their professional licenses, a spokesman for the national flag carrier said on Saturday.
Abdullah Khan said the aviation ministry had issued a list identifying 262 pilots with fake/suspicious licenses, which also included 10 pilots associated with Serene Air and nine with Air Blue.
In a letter to the Aviation Ministry, PIA Chief Executive Officer Air Marshal Arshad Malik said steps were being taken for the safety of flights and passengers.
The letter also mentioned that the 141 pilots grounded by PIA include 17 who were identified for their dubious credentials by the national carrier itself around a year and a half ago.
Senior office-bearers of Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA), including its spokesman Captain Qasim Qadir, were said to be among them, along with Captain Yahya Sandhila, responsible for the Panjgur incident which had triggered an inquiry into the matter.
The spokesperson further said there were lobbies bent upon disrupting the PIA’s Europe and North America operations. The PIA Chief, Khan said, had written to the ambassadors of the concerned countries reaffirming that the airline shall remain compliant with all international aviation safety and regulatory standards.
“It is also ensured that pilots flying PIA flights have genuine licenses endorsed by the Government of Pakistan and are in physical possession of the same during all domestic and international flights,” PIA CEO Malik was quoted to have emphasised.
