CAA hopes to resume pilots' licensing in February

KARACHI: The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is likely to resume licensing pilots in February next year with the release of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) report of an audit under the Universal Safety Audit Oversight Programme (USOAP), ARY News reported.

A nine-member ICAO team carried out an audit in Pakistan for 10 days that concluded on Friday.

Addressing press conference, Director General Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, Khaqan Murtaza said that ICAO auditors appreciated the efforts of PCAA team.

“We are hopeful we will resume issuance of licensing following the release of the ICAO audit report expected in February,” Khaqan Murtaza, director-general of the PCAA, told reporters on Monday.

He said that the auditors evaluated CAA response to about 700 protocol questions (PQs) and verified all the supporting evidences.

Elaborating on the agreement signed with UK CAAi to conduct E-exams for aircrew, Deputy DG Regulatory explained that exams for ATPL, CPL, PPL and FOO are expected to start by February end. The fee for appearing in exams for the first year is set at 90 pounds per paper while 95 pounds per paper will be charged for the second year.

On a question related to bird menace, Additional DG said that state of the art Bird Repellant System was under evaluation and will be procured soon.

It is pertinent to mention here that the ICAO auditors had arrived in Pakistan on November 29 for conducting a complete audit of the country’s aviation regulator.

The ICAO team had audited the pilot licencing mechanism, the air navigation system (ANS), aircraft operations, and aerodromes and ground aids (AGA) among other areas.