Voice of America
01 Jul 2020, 04:05 GMT+10
Pakistan International Airlines will not be allowed to fly into most of Europe for the next six months, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said on Tuesday, following revelations that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot exams.
In a letter banning Pakistan's national airline, the EASA cited concerns 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."
Pakistan's aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, reported last week that 260 of 860 pilots had improperly gotten their licenses.
The scandal came to light during investigations into the May 22 Airbus A320 plane crash at Pakistan's southern port of Karachi, in which 97 people were killed. Further inquiries eventually led investigators to find that the Civil Aviation Authority had given out licenses to pilots who had cheated on their exams.
The government has since fired five officials of the regulatory agency, and PIA subsequently grounded 150 of its pilots for cheating.
PIA, which had not been flying to Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic, had been hoping to resume flights to Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona and Milan within the next two months.
"We have really hit rock bottom, I am so sad to say," PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said.
"The saddest part for PIA is that we had alerted the regulatory agency and the government," Hafeez said, regarding the cheating scandal, in an interview with the Associated Press.
Get a daily dose of New York Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New York Statesman.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
LONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...