Dubious pilot licences fiasco: CAA suspends five officials

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suspended its five officials facing an inquiry over their alleged involvement in malpractices in issuance of licences to pilots.

Those suspended include the CAA licencing branch’s senior joint director and Human Resources (HR) supervisor. They have been accused of allowing pilots to appear in exams through their proxies.

“The Competent Authority has ordered to suspend you till further orders consequent upon establishing your involvement in Board of Inquiry conducted to investigate the violation / malpractices in conduct / issuance of Flight Crew Licences,” read a suspension order issued to one of the officials.

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“You are therefore deemed to be under suspension from your duty with immediate effect under Civil Aviation Authority (Efficiency & Discipline) Regulations – 2014 (Revision Version – 2019 ).”

It is to mention here that the Aviation Division had lately declared licences of 160 pilots from national flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Airblue and SereneAir ‘suspicious’ and ordered the management of the airlines to immediate ground the aviates.

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The aviation authority issued directives to the management of the airlines to immediate ground the pilots who were possessing suspicious licences. The suspicious pilots include 141 from PIA, nine from Airblue and 10 from SereneAir.