CAA to outsource pilots licensing exams to UK

Agreement between the civil aviation authorities in Pakistan and UK for three years has been formalized

ISLAMABAD:

In a bid to address the concerns of the global aviation industry on the issue of alleged fake licences of Pakistani pilots, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday decided to outsource the process of holding licensing exams to the United Kingdom’s aviation authority.

An agreement has been reached between the civil aviation authorities in Pakistan and United Kingdom for three years after the cabinet approved a framework agreement between the two entities.

The British aviation authority will conduct exams for licenses of Flight Operations Officer (FOO), private pilot license (PPL), and commercial pilot license (CPL).

The pilots will have to pay the exam fee in pounds, as per the agreement. The fee for appearing in exams for the first year is set at 90 pounds per paper while 95 pounds per paper will be charged for the second year.

The pilot would be liable to pay the entire fee for appearing in the exam for the third time.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s aviation authority would pay 75 per cent for the first time and 25 per cent for the second time.

Pilot licence scandal

In June last year, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had made a startling revelation that 262 pilots, out of a total of 860 in the country, had "suspicious flying licences" and would be grounded immediately.

Later, the PIA announced that it would ground a third of its 434 pilots.

Later, the PIA sacked 17 pilots for having 'dubious' flying licences on the order of the federal cabinet. They included 12 captains and five first officers.

In the wake of the fake licence scandal, the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate in EU member states for six months expressing concerns over the minister’s statement.

Following the EASA’s move, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said it was withdrawing PIA’s permit to operate from three of its airports. “PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester airports are suspended with immediate effect,” a spokesperson for the authority told Reuters. The three were major flying destinations for the airline.

Later, the United States also imposed a ban on flights of the national flag carrier for six months citing dubious licences.

On June 25 the same year, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed took notice of the matter and the apex court issued directions for the registration of criminal cases against the officials involved in the issuance of fake licences to pilots.

The court also ordered the relevant authorities to immediately conclude the proceedings against pilots with fake licences. It also expressed its dissatisfaction over the reports submitted to the court by the CAA and the PIA.