EASA seeks suspension of Pakistani pilots

KARACHI: European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Tuesday apprised its third country operators regarding the issue of fraudulent licenses of Pakistani pilots and asked its members states to take action against pilots holding Pakistani licenses, ARY NEWS reported. 

In a letter written to the third party operators, the EASA said that it is known that approximately 40 percent of the pilots issued licenses by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority are either falsified or not ICAO complaint.

Issuing recommendations for the airlines where Pakistani pilots are flying planes, it said that all aviation authorities of the EASA member states should consider the suspension of the validation issued against Pakistani licenses.

It also sought information from third country operators to share as to what action they have taken or they plan to take against these pilots.

It is pertinent to mention here that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on June 30 announced to suspend Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operations for Europe over safety concerns.

The EASA in a letter conveyed to the national flag carrier, said that they had suspended the Third Country Operator (TCO) Authorisation to PIA after it failed to comply with the proposed corrective action plans (CAPs).

It said that six findings were raised with the PIA officials during meetings in June and September 2019, out of which five of the action plans were implemented while one other concerning elements of a Safety Management Systems was not implemented.

It further quoted the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar’s remarks at the floor of the National Assembly, where he said that 260 out of 860 pilots’ licenses issued by the Pakistani authorities and used by pilots operating for air operators certified in Pakistan are fraudulent.

Taking the above-mentioned issues into consideration, it suspended the PIA flight operations in Europe for six months.