Comment: Blowing a molehill into a mountain
PIA needs to ensure that the pilot must be given training in basic human management skills.
There are laws and standard operating procedures to deal with unruly passengers, who fight between themselves or with a crew causing physical harm or threatening other passengers and crew. PHOTO: FILE
In the post Ziaul Haq era, PIA has been reduced to an airline whose international flight passenger revenue relies almost solely comprises ethnic Pakistani traffic – the bulk coming from Pakistani expatriates in Europe, USA and Canada, while skilled and semi-skilled Pakistani labour working in the Gulf countries generate revenue from the Middle East.
On almost every flight bound to Manchester, Birmingham and London, fights erupt between few rowdy passengers. There are laws and standard operating procedures to deal with unruly passengers, who fight between themselves or with a crew causing physical harm or threatening other passengers and crew.
In this case with two seasoned PIA pilots – Captain Nadeem Sufi and Captain Rashid – on board, they should have informed PIA on the company channel or asked the air traffic control for police assistance on arrival, since the aircraft had already descended for approach to Manchester and would have landed within approximately 15 minutes.
If this procedure was followed the aircraft would have landed at Manchester airport, where police would have arrested the rowdy passengers on a written complaint signed by the captain.
Instead, a crisis was created and Pakistan and PIA ended up being negatively projected before international media in an already hostile environment. A mere onboard disturbance was wrongly perceived as a terrorist threat and Royal Air Force fighter jets were scrambled to escort the flight, creating panic. The unprofessionalism and immaturity of the PIA captain and his incapability to resolve the conflict has landed PIA into an ugly mess, which could have been avoided.
It is time for PIA to revaluate whether to raise the minimum academic qualification for the induction of pilots to minimum graduation, or an equivalent college degree, with strict psychiatric evaluation as performed by several international airlines.
Similarly, PIA needs to ensure that apart from flying capability, the pilot must be given training in basic human management skills and conflict resolution before being given command of a passenger aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2013.