Fake pilots of Pakistan International Airlines
PIA’s fake pilots reflect poorly on PAF which effectively runs PIA and CAA
Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan recently informed Parliament that 260 out of Pakistan’s 860 active pilots were found to have cheated on their qualifying exams or had fake licenses. The proportion for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s national flag carrier, is much worse. PIA’s spokesperson confirmed to AFP that 150 out of 434 pilots grounded for possessing “bogus licenses”. Five pilots had not even passed ‘Matric’ exams.
bogus licenses
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed concern about this lapse. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency banned PIA flights to Europe for six months, expressing concern “about the validity of the Pakistani pilot licenses and that Pakistan, as the State of operator, is currently not capable to certify and oversee its operators and aircraft in accordance with applicable international standards.” The United Kingdom has withdrawn PIA’s permit to operate flights from Birmingham, London, and Manchester airports.
PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester airports are suspended with immediate effect.
Coming close on the heels of COVID-19, the fallout for Pakistan’s aviation sector will be severe. The impact is also being felt by Pakistani pilots employed by foreign airlines. Turkish Airlines has decided to ground 16 Pakistani pilots, and Vietnam’s aviation authority has grounded all Pakistani pilots working for Vietnamese airlines. The General Civil Aviation Authority of UAE has reportedly written to Pakistan’s Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (DG CAA) seeking verification of the licenses of pilots holding UAE flying credentials that were granted on the basis of pilot licenses issued by DG CAA. They have also asked if similar problems exist with the credentials of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and Flight Operations Officers from Pakistan.
This is an incredibly embarrassing scandal for the Pakistani aviation sector in general. But the focus remains on PIA, given its dominant market share in Pakistan. Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik – having served as Vice Chief of Air Staff – has his task cut out if he is to salvage PIA’s reputation and prevent the scandal from affecting that of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). This year is best characterised as one of jumping from the frying pan and landing in the fire for Malik who, in February this year earned the displeasure of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. The court found that Malik’s appointment as CEO was illegal on account of him being a serving officer of the PAF. A three-judge bench was categorical in its decision that a serving officer of the PAF could not hold the post of PIA CEO.
Arshad Mehmood Malik should resign from the air force and permanently join PIA. Only one thing can be done, either work in PAF or PIA
The court also pointed out that the PIA needed a permanent chairman who could run it professionally, an apparent dig at the fact that the PIA’s management is dominated by the PAF. While the PIA has always been considered the PAF’s fortress on account of a large number of ex-PAF officers going on to serve with the commercial airline, a January 2019 decision of the Pakistan government formalising the PAF’s control over PIA leaves the PAF’s reputation acutely vulnerable. At least 3 serving Air Marshals of the PAF are currently part of the PIA’s top management. Four serving Air Commodores and 3 serving Wing Commanders are serving in managerial capacity in various departments.
The January 2019 meeting also decided to depute 4 serving Pakistan Army officers to PIA where they would strengthen the already strong connect PIA has with the Pakistan Army. As per some sources, Air Marshal Malik is related to Gen Qamar Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan Army. Former Chief Human Resources Officer of PIA, Asma Bajwa is the sister-in-law of COAS Gen Qamar Bajwa. Two brothers of the COAS are also said to be in mid-level positions in PIA in Birmingham.
The PIA’s defence, predictably, is that licensing is the prerogative of the DG CAA who happens to be a retired Air Marshal of the PAF. But the issue of fake licenses isn’t a new one. An anonymous letter penned by a PIA pilot mentions that the issue pertains to between 2 and 7 years ago. This raises other questions. In these 2+ years the pilots in question would have flown hundreds of flights. It is extremely unlikely that they did not fly with pilots who had valid licenses including ex-PAF types. Should experienced pilots not have realised that the people they were flying with weren’t exactly who their certifications made them out to be? How did these fake-license pilots manage to not raise the suspicions of their colleagues, especially the ex-PAF lot who, presumably, are far more experienced?
With accusations flying all over the place it appears unlikely that this mess will be cleared out anytime soon. But in any reasonable country, if the nation’s air force were as entwined with airlines and regulators as the PAF currently are, they’d have a lot to answer for.
Shaunak Agarkhedkar writes spy novels. His first two - Let Bhutto Eat Grass & Let Bhutto Eat Grass: Part 2 - deal with nuclear weapons espionage in 1970s India, Pakistan, and Europe.