The United Nations warns its staff not to travel on Pakistani airlines due to concerns over possibly fake licenses of pilots. In a warning to staff, UN security officials said “caution is advised on the use of Pakistan-registered air operators.”
Over the last decade, around 450 passengers and crew have died in four plane crashes in Pakistan. The pilots’ mistake was found as the reason behind three of the four crashes, raising questions about the pilots’ abilities.
Responding to the announcement by the UN on Sunday, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was evaluating the situation and working on a resolution.
The UN advisory refers to more than a dozen Pakistani airlines, including the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). In June, Pakistani officials had asked airlines to ground more than 150 pilots over doubts about their qualifications and “suspicious” licenses. Following the announcement, PIA was forbidden from flying to EU states for six months. The decision came after a PIA-operated Airbus A320 crashed in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in May, killing 97 passengers and crew. PIA was connected to two of the four airplane crashes to have taken place in Pakistan in the past decade.
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