Fake licences scandal: UAE writes to Pakistan for verification of more than 50 pilots

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday wrote a letter to Pakistani authorities for verification of licences of more than 50 pilots. According to the letter, UAE Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sent a letter to the CAA director general (DG) for verification of licences of more than 50 pilots and 4 flight operations officers. UAE seeks information of licensing credentials of pilots to make air travel and safe and secure. “Licences of aircraft engineers working in the UAE will also be verified,” it stated. The list of more than 50 pilots and four flight officers has been also sent to the Pakistani authorities. it is pertinent to mention here that all flights of the PIA have been suspended for six months. The suspension of flights will be applicable from July 1. Earlier, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that the government has started action against 262 pilots having dubious licences. Talking to the media on Friday, he said that the list of 148 pilots has been released in this regard on the website. “PIA has the highest number of pilots – 141 – having dubious licences. The exams of 34 pilots were taken by someone else,” he declared. The minister said that nine pilots of Air Blue and 10 pilots of Serene Air had also dubious licences. “Five people of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who had issued the licences, have been suspended,” he added. Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that all the recruitments were made by the previous governments. “We have not made a single appointment. We are cleaning the dirt thrown by the former rulers,” he added. He said that the process of reforms had been started in the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) had been started. Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman had announced that the company will ground a third of its 434 pilots for having dubious licences and flying certificates.