Allegations by minister 'whose own degree is fake' resulted in PIA Europe ban: Bilawal
Dawn.comUpdated July 01, 2020
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PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addresses a press conference in Lahore. — DawnNewsTV
PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday held the PTI government responsible for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) being
barred from operating flights to European countries, saying the government wants to sell off the national flag carrier's assets based on "lies".
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, he said PIA's permit to fly to EU countries was suspended because Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had accused its pilots of holding
dubious licences "without any evidence".
"The minister whose own degree is fake ... levelled this type of allegation against our pilots without any evidence [leading to] them being banned across the world. No one has caused this type of damage to PIA in history as this government," he said, referring to Khan.
Read:
PIA banned from flying to EU states for six months
UK withdraws PIA permit to operate from Birmingham, London and Manchester airports
Reuters |
Dawn.comUpdated July 01, 2020
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The developments follow grounding of 262 pilots whose licences Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed “dubious”. — Wikimedia Commons/File
The revelation of pilots holding
"dubious" licences continued to take its toll as the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority said it was withdrawing the Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) permit to operate from three of its airports and the United Arab Emirates sought to verify the credentials of its Pakistani pilots and engineers.
“PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester airports are suspended with immediate effect,” a spokesman for the UK authority told
Reuters on Tuesday.
The three were major flying destinations for the airline.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is seeking to verify the credentials of the Pakistani pilots and engineers employed in its airlines after the government grounded 262 pilots for holding “dubious” qualifications.
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The director general of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi requested the verification of the credentials of Pakistani pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and flight operations officers working in the Middle Eastern country in a June 29 letter reviewed by
Reuters to Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) Director General Hassan Nasir Jamy.
“We would like to request your good offices to verify the licensing credentials of the attached pilots list who are currently holding UAE's pilots licences based on licences and qualifications issued by PCAA,” the letter said.
The aviation ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The announcements come on the heels of the European Union Air Safety Agency's (EASA) decision to
suspend PIA's operations in the bloc for the next six months.