Around 150 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots are being grounded after it was revealed that several pilots of the national carrier hold fake licenses.
As per the airlines officials, PIA has decided to ground 150 out of its 426 pilots over the suspicion of having fake licenses. The pilots will remain suspended till the inquiry is concluded.
According to the statement issued by PIA via social media, “An independent Flight Data Monitoring setup established to monitor & analyze all flights. All pilots with dubious licenses will be grounded.”
Moreover, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik has also written to DG Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) citing grave concerns over the issue of fake licenses and pilots with fraudulent credentials operating passenger planes.
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“It is a grave concern for us as many out of these 150 pilots must by flying PIA aircraft, which cannot be allowed after disclosure of fake/suspicious licenses scam by Aviation Minister,” read the letter.
Additionally, Mr Arshad Malik has asked CAA to provide the requisite list of pilots who are suspected of having forged and fraudulent credentials so that appropriate action can be taken against such individuals.
The development comes as Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, on Wednesday, said that 262 pilots, out of total 860 in the country have fake degrees and licenses and often use proxies in examination process.
