ISLAMABAD: The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) on Tuesday suspended Pakistan International Airlines` authorization to operate to the EU member states for a period of six months effective from Wednesday (today) July 1, with the right to appeal against the decision.
Following the EU line of action, the UK Civil Aviation Agency has also suspended PIA flight operations from three major airports, Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester.
The UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has also removed PIA from its `Recommended List`, and advised the United Nations staff in Pakistan not to travel on any Pakistan-registered airlines.
Earlier the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed concerns over the ‘serious lapse’ in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulators of Pakistan.
The move follows the grounding of 262 pilots whose licences Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed “dubious”.
Aviation Minister Khan’s announcement last week of the grounding of 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams had caused global concern. The minister termed their degrees ‘Fake’, ‘Jalli’ and ‘Dubious’.
However, The Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA) has raised doubts about the list of pilots.
“It contains names of highly educated and qualified pilots who have passed all the tests,” its president, Chaudhry Salman, told “We want a fair and impartial resolution to this matter.”
However, later in the day the European Union allowed PIA to operate its flights to the continent till July 3, the airline`s spokesman said.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said the extension in flight operations was granted by the EU after the foreign secretary contacted the European authorities.
He said the PIA management, Foreign Office and Pakistani ambassadors were all in contact with European officials.
Abdullah told that PIA would operate its flight PK-785 and PK-786 as per previous schedule.
The EASA`s move came in the wake of last week`s statement of federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan in the National Assembly declaring that ‘150 pilots’ of the national flag carrier had ‘dubious’ commercial licences. Later, PIA grounded its ‘107 pilots’ after a list of pilots having `dubious`licences was sent to the PIA management.
The PIA had already written to foreign missions and global regulatory and safety bodies, assuring them it had taken stringent steps for the safety of passengers and grounded `105 pilots` suspected of obtaining licenses through unfair means.
The EASA stated it received information according to which Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on June 24 informed the Pakistani Parliament of the results of an investigation, declaring that more than 260 of the 860 pilot licenses issued by the Pakistani authorities and used by pilots operating for air operators certified in Pakistan are fraudulent.
The PIA Corporation has the right to file appeal at EASA against this decision in writing within two months in accordance with Articles 108 to 114 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. For this, the PIA is required to pay a fee when lodging the appeal.
