Last Updated on July 18, 2020, 7:56 PM AST by Anthony Morris
The government said on Saturday that all Pakistani pilots who are working for the Vietnamese airlines have legitimate and valid licences, and none of them had been involved in a flight incident or safety threat.
Vietnam had grounded all Pakistani pilots working for local airlines last month amid the concern from global regulators that some Pakistani pilots may have been using a fake licence.
A government statement said while citing a note from the Pakistani embassy to the Vietnamese government that all the licences which have been administered by the Pakistani aviation regulator are valid and legitimate. There are no fake licences, as it id being mentioned by the media.
According to Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority, Vietnam had licensed 27 Pakistani pilots, and 12 of them were active currently. The contracts of other 15 pilots had expired, or they were inactive because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The issue of fake licences drew global attention after Ghulam Sarwar Khan; Aviation Minister revealed in the National Assembly of Pakistan that there were 860 active pilots in the country and 260 pilots did sit in their exams themselves, and almost 40 per cent of the total pilots had an improper or fake licence and did not have the flying experience.
As the aviation crisis emerged, the civil aviation authorities of different countries including Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar formally contacted Pakistan for verifying if the commercial pilot licences and airline transport pilot licences issued by Pakistan are valid and genuinely issued.
Some countries also expressed concern regarding the pilot licencing issue and asked Pakistani authorities to inform them regarding the measures which have been taken to ensure all civilian pilots are properly licensed and trained according to ICAO regulations.
Last week, the Aviation Division had cleared 95 per cent licences of Pakistani pilots serving in different airlines in seven countries. It said that the process of verification of the remaining would be completed this week.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
