KARACHI: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) hopes it can resume licensing pilots in February with the release of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit report after a scandal over fake licenses, an authority official said.

The ICAO, the UN Aviation body, advised Pakistan in September 2020 to undertake immediate corrective action and suspend the issue of any new pilot licences after false licences came to light following the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane in May that year, in which 97 people were killed.

A nine-member ICAO team carried out an audit in Pakistan for 10 days that concluded on Friday.

“We are hopeful we will resume issuance of licensing following the release of the ICAO audit report expected in February,” Khaqan Murtaza, director general of the PCAA, told reporters on Monday.

ICAO told Pakistan in Sept 2020 to suspend issue of any new pilot licences after false licences came to light

The pilot licence scandal tainted Pakistan’s aviation industry and hurt flag carrier PIA, which was barred from flying to Europe and the United States.

In June last year, Pakistan grounded 262 airline pilots suspected of dodging their exams following checks of their qualifications.

The action was prompted by the preliminary report on an airliner crash in Karachi last year, which found that the pilots had failed to follow standard procedures and disregarded alarms.

The situation is that they have cleared us but a final report is awaited. The report is expected any time after mid-February, Murtaza said.

The audit was carried out in six areas airworthiness, flying standards, personal licensing and examination, air navigation services, aerodromes and aircraft accident.

The ICAO team visited Pakistan aeronautical complex, PIA offices and offices of other airlines.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021