Severity of decline in flight safety, enormity of losses are a verdict on failure of ministry of defence.
LAHORE: The creation of a separate aviation division dealing with the commercial air transport industry is a step in the right direction. Having taken a welcome decision, it is shocking that the government has appointed a Canadian national as its adviser aviation, who was removed from the PAF. He also owns the Royal Airport Services, a ground handling agency regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As for his administrative skills, the embarrassment caused by the Supreme Court cancelling the notification that appointed PIA’s interim chairman should have been enough. The fact is that PIA is a statutory organisation created under the PIAC Act. It is also an unfortunate reality that in the recent past, all appointments, contracts and administrative-cum-financial matters relating to the PIA and the CAA have not been in accordance with acts of a statutory body.
Pakistan’s aviation industry has suffered failures under the ministry of defence, from suspension by the European Union, to heightened bird activity, violation of mandatory sterile zones around the periphery of civil airports, appointment of vendors of ill-repute and creation of cartels leading to fleecing of pilgrims. The discrepancies in award of routes to foreign airlines, in violation of bilateral agreements that govern such matters, and losses to Pakistani registered airlines are self-explanatory. Pakistan has a shameful track record when it comes to accident investigation as was witnessed in the fatal air crashes of the Air Blue and Bhoja Air flights. A credible professional accident investigation was not achievable under the present set-up, nor could the CAA be expected to deliver when it owns and administers airports, navigational facilities and is also the regulator that grants airline operator certificates, crew licences and air worthiness certificates of the aircraft involved. The severity of decline in flight safety and the enormity of losses incurred by this industry are a verdict on the failure of the ministry of defence to regulate commercial aviation.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2013.
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