Pakistan flag carrier to ground a third of pilots over 'dubious' licences

Thursday, 25 June 2020 15:37

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will suspend 150 pilots for holding "dubious licences".

They have been accused of obtaining licences by having others take exams for them following an inquiry into a PIA crash last month.

All the pilots under investigation would be grounded, said company spokesman Abdullah H. Khan.

It comes a day after the country’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarqar Khan, said 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots had "fake" licences.

The investigation into pilots' qualifications came after an investigation into a 2018 crash found that the test date on the licence of the pilot involved was a holiday suggesting it was a dummy.

More from International News

Technical glitch with air traffic system at Delhi airport resolved

The Indian airports authority said late on Friday that a system used to generate flight plans was "up and running", more than a day after a technical glitch led to delays of hundreds of flights at Delhi airport, one of the world's busiest.
Indonesian mosque blasts injure dozens, teenage suspect identified

Explosions at a mosque in Indonesia's capital Jakarta that injured dozens of people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials indicated, with a 17-year-old identified as the suspected perpetrator.
Over 200 flights delayed at Delhi airport after glitch in air traffic system

More than 200 flights were delayed at Delhi airport, one of the world's busiest, after an air traffic control messaging system suffered a technical problem, India's airport authority and a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.
India top court says Air India crash report does not insinuate anything against pilot

India's top court said on Friday that a preliminary report on an Air India crash that killed 260 people in June does not insinuate anything against the captain, but it will hear a plea from the pilot's father on November 10 for an independent probe.