Senate panel revisits pilot licences issue

Key official tells committee decision to privatise PIA is final

ISLAMABAD:

The issue of commercial pilots, who got fake licences or cheated in exams, again came up for discussion in a Senate committee on Wednesday, a day after the Senate Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges had directed the aviation regulator to reinstate 82 pilots.

The Senate Standing Committee on Aviation met at the Parliament House with PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in the chair. The committee took up different matters including the privatisation of the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines.
On Tuesday, the rules of procedure and privileges committee had ordered the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to implement the decision within 15 days and furnish a report.

When the issue of the pilots’ licence came up in the aviation committee meeting, the aviation secretary requested an in-camera briefing.

To this, Senator Mandviwalla, who headed the sub-committee that looked into the pilots’ licensing issue, pointed out that everything had been revealed on the matter and asked the secretary if there was anything left undisclosed.

However, the chair allowed to restrict the in-camera discussion to the extent of pilots licenses and asked media personnel to leave the huddle.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Aviation Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain Malik informed the Senate committee that the decision to privatise the ailing PIA was final and added the Privatisation Commission had hired financial advisers for the purpose.

Detailing upon the matter, he said the privatisation process had been started in April this year and PIA was entirely handed over to the Privatisation Commission in September.

Malik told the committee that PIA’s monthly revenue stood at Rs22 billion and the airline was already acquiring fuel for its planes from the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on credit as well.

Read: Govt, banks at stalemate over PIA debt restructuring

Speaking about the two planes stranded in Indonesia, the interim adviser said one of them had returned while the other would be handed back in three weeks.

The Privatisation Commission secretary told the committee that the federal cabinet gave the permission to hire a financial adviser for the PIA on October 11.

He continued that the financial adviser was scheduled to present their recommendations at the end of the ongoing month.
The official further told the panel that the PIA’s had a monthly operational expenditure of Rs20 billion while its debt to commercial banks stood at Rs266 billion.

The PIA CEO told the committee that measures were being taken to reduce the expenditure of the national flag carrier.
PML-N Senator Afnanullah Khan asked the officials that were they confident that they would be able to privatise the PIA. The CAA officials replied in the affirmative.

The aviation ministry officials told the committee that it had been decided to renovate the PIA's Roosevelt Hotel in the US and entered a joint venture with a firm for this purpose.

Senator Mandviwalla’s inquired who was managing the hotel at present.

The aviation ministry’s joint secretary replied that the hotel had been handed over to a company to manage its affairs, but he could not recall its name.

The interim aviation adviser said the complete details on the matter of Roosevelt Hotel would be furnished to the committee in its next meeting, adding that the PIA owned 37 properties.

He added that the Roosevelt Hotel had a book value of $427 million. The interim adviser continued that a financial adviser had been hired and he would evaluate the hotel’s actual cost within two months.