Islamabad: Pakistani airlines may face a ban from flying to 188 countries over their pilot licensing issue and failure to meet international standards as required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Due to the license scam, flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has already been banned from flying to the UK and the European Union. The scam came to light after Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the Federal Minister for Aviation, had revealed in August that 262 pilots including 141 of the PIA held fake credentials.
Meanwhile, the ICAO in the 12th meeting of its 179th session approved a mechanism for addressing Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) to its member states. The ICAO issued a serious warning to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) over the safety concerns. ICAO stated that PCAA had failed to meet the international standards regarding the personnel licensing and training in relation to the licensing process for the pilot. Therefore, the country`s aircraft and pilots, are likely to be banned from flying to 188 countries in the world. The association has requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene and set up a special task force to address the matter on an urgent basis.
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