The United Kingdom authorities have suspended Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA flights from 3 airports
According to details, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has announced a ban on PIA flights from its three airports. The spokesman of the UK authority has said that, PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester airports are immediately suspended, reported UK news agency, Writers.
All three UK airports are major destinations for airlines. The announcement by the UK follows the European Union’s Air Safety Agency’s (ISA) decision to suspend PIA operations for the next six months.
The Pakistan Federal Minister for aviation, Ghulam Sarwar presenting the investigation report of the Karachi passenger plane crash in the National Assembly on June 24 had said that out of 860 pilots, 262 had passed the exams through someone else.
After which on 26 June, the federal minister of aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said in a press conference, the pilots who have been questioned are 262, 141 in PIA, 9 in Air-Blue, 10 in Serien 17 in Shaheen and there are 85 others.
He said that not only the licenses of these pilots would be revoked but they will also lose their jobs and there would be criminal proceedings and the clean-up would take place this year.
Recently, Vietnam’s civil aviation authorities suspended at least 20 Pakistani pilots on the instructions of the relevant ministry following an alleged fake license scandal.
The decision was made at the behest of the Ministry of Transport, said Dinh Viet Thang, director of Vietnam’s Civil Aviation (CAAV).
Dinh Viet Thang has said, around 20 pilots have been suspended, and they were all citizens of Pakistan and had obtained a license from Pakistan.
A statement issued by the PIA spokesperson yesterday said that it would be applicable from midnight on July 1, 2020 and said that an appeal could be launched against the decision.
The National Airline said PIA is going to cancel all the flights temporarily to Europe as a result of the EU Air Safety Agency’s decision. The statement said that passengers who have a PIA reservation will have the option to forward the booking or get the money back.
The spokesman said, the PIA is in constant touch with the European Union’s Air Safety Agency and taking corrective measures to address their concerns. The PIA later said that the European Union had allowed the national airline to continue operations until July 3.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez had said that the European Union had extended the flight operation after the Foreign Secretary contacted European officials. He said that, the administration of PIA, foreign office and Pakistani ambassadors were in touch with European authorities.
In this regard, PIA had also tweeted that flight PK785 from Islamabad to London Heathrow and flight PK786 from London Heathrow to Islamabad would operate as usual on July 1.
Furthermore, the Pakistani pilots and their union, the Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA), said that there were discrepancies in the government’s list of pilots with suspicious licenses and called for a judicial inquiry.
The statement said that when the airlines found discrepancies after receiving the list, 36 of the 141 pilots retired or moved out.
Palpa President Chaudhry Salman said that this list includes the names of highly educated and capable pilots who have passed all the tests. “We want a fair and impartial solution to this issue,” he said.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Pakistan Aviation, Abdul Sattar Khokar said, that he doesn’t have the details regarding the Contradictions of the list, and the problem is being solved through the consultation of airlines and civil aviation.