PIA angers CAA by offering help in accounts audit

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan (CAA) has Wednesday expressed its displeasure over Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) alleged violation of mandate by offering help to the aviation regulatory on accounts audit, ARY News reported.

It is unprofessional on part of the PIA to patronize CAA, which is an internationally recognized aviation regulatory, by offering to help it with the audit, the spokesperson said today.

The statement made by the PIA CEO Arshad Malik to offer assistance to CAA is beyond his mandate, the aviation regulator said today.

It is the CAA and not the PIA that is an internationally registered and recognized aviation regulator under whose mandate lies the safety regulation of all the airlines, including PIA, operating in the country, the spokesperson added. It is our principal responsibility to see through the safety of the passengers, he said.

Islamabad-bound PIA aircraft escapes accident

Separately yesterday from the national flag carrier, an Islamabad-bound PIA flight narrowly escaped an accident during take-off at Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport.

According to details, PIA aircraft PK-787 entered into a taxiway (a route along which aircraft can taxi when moving to or from a runway) at the airport without getting clearance from airport administration.

At the same time, the Air Canada flight from Seoul reached Toronto airport and was about to land at the same runway where the PIA plane was already present, but timely action by air traffic control avoided a clash between the two planes.