Pakistan International Airlines: Grounds 141 pilots with 'suspicious licenses'

Pakistan International Airlines: Grounds 141 pilots with 'suspicious licenses'

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan's national carrier, has informed foreign ambassadors and international aviation watchdogs that all 141 pilots with suspected PIA licenses have been grounded.

PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik has informed all the ambassadors and international watchdogs in a letter about the steps taken in this regard.

A statement issued here said that out of 141 pilots with suspicious PIA licenses, 17 pilots were already suspended but the remaining pilots have now been grounded.

The PIA has also released the names of all the 141 pilots.

Of the 262 pilots, 141 are affiliated with Pakistan's national airline, PIA, nine private airlines are Air Blue and ten are operating at Surin Air.

The Ministry of Aviation says that on an average, one-third of Pakistan's pilots have suspicious licenses.

It may be recalled that while presenting the preliminary report of the crash of Pakistan National Airlines in the month of May in Parliament on June 24, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had revealed that the licenses of several pilots in Pakistan were fake.

His remarks raised concerns around the world, as PIA flights also operate on a number of international routes.

Ghulam Sarwar had informed the parliament that there are 860 licensed commercial pilots in Pakistan whose verification of licenses was a long process. He said that the matter was investigated according to which the licenses of 262 pilots are doubtful.

The aviation minister said that several pilots claimed to have obtained their licenses by giving papers on holidays while some pilots admitted that their licenses were fake.