Most licenses valid for Pakistan pilots working abroad: Regulator

Airlines in 10 countries had demanded proof of valid flying licenses for their Pakistani pilots after it emerged about a third of PIA aviators were holding “bogus” licenses. (PIA Twitter)

• Airlines in 10 countries had demanded proof of valid flying licenses for their Pakistani pilots
• In all, the foreign airlines asked for proof of 176 Pakistani pilot licenses

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities said Thursday they had confirmed the credentials of almost all Pakistani pilots working for foreign airlines, as the country battles a scandal over aviator licenses.
Airlines in 10 countries had demanded proof of valid flying licenses for their Pakistani pilots after it emerged about a third of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aviators were holding “bogus or suspicious” licenses.
In all, the foreign airlines asked for proof of 176 Pakistani pilot licenses.
Of these, 166 “have been validated as genuine and certified by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) Pakistan as having no anomaly,” the agency said in a statement.
The “process for the remaining 10 shall be concluded by next week,” it added.
Pakistan’s aviation minister sent shockwaves through the industry last month by revealing that some 260 pilots had dubious licenses.
About 150 worked for state-owned PIA — almost one-third of the airline’s staff of 434 pilots.
The announcement came a month after a PIA plane crashed into houses in Karachi, killing 98 people.
Investigators have largely blamed the crash on the pilots, though both had valid licenses.
The 10 airlines asking for proof of valid Pakistani pilots’ licenses were from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong, according to the CAA.