KARACHI: Unsettlingly, it has emerged that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) mismanaged the crucial appointment for the position of Additional Director Aero Medical and appears not to have learned from the false licenses fiasco.
Any incorrect appointment may raise questions about a pilot’s medical fitness because the physicians assigned to this position must carry out their duties as Flight Surgeons and Medical Assessors in addition to deeming commercial pilots “fit” to operate aircraft.
The revelation coincides with the fact that the nation’s aviation sector is still recovering from the 2020 phony license scandal, which led to the operation of Pakistani airlines being prohibited by European authorities in July 2020 when it was discovered that pilots possessed “fake” licences, as put by the then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar.
These shocking disclosures were made at the presentation of the preliminary report by the aviation minister about the investigation into the May 22, 2020, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303 tragedy, which claimed the lives of 85 passengers.
Sources informed News last month that because the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has extended its ban on the national carrier, the PIA will have to wait even longer to start operating again in European nations.
As a reaction to the May 31 report that Pakistani authorities had filed, the committee had demanded that Islamabad designate officers who possess professional qualifications in civil aviation.
According to the article, the four-year prohibition was put in place since the CAA was deemed to be insignificant. However, sources have issued a warning.
