According to aviation minister,
He also did not elaborate on any specific charges against them, but said that apart from removing the officials from their jobs, they could also face criminal charges. Khan said private airline companies had been asked not to allow pilots with faulty licenses to fly their planes.
The scandal erupted this week when Khan said that 262 pilots working for the national carrier,
Khan made the revelation on Wednesday in parliament as he was presenting preliminary findings of the probe into the
The government has so far not said whether the pilot and co-pilot of the doomed
On Thursday, PIA said it grounded 150 of its pilots for cheating in this manner and started the process for terminating their contracts. The
The scandal has shocked many Pakistanis, including the families of those passengers who died when the flight PK8303 went down in a congested residential area while trying to land in the port city of
Khan has not elaborated on the alleged methods used by the pilots to wrongfully obtain licenses to fly commercial planes. He only said that they did not take examinations themselves to get the required certificates, which are issued by the civil aviation authority.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Khan said that out of the 262 pilots who had cheated in this manner, 141 worked for PIA, which employs 450 pilots — more than a third of the workforce. The remaining pilots worked for private airlines.
“These 141 pilots will not be allowed to fly aircraft," Khan said. “Some people say our actions will have a negative impact on the reputation of
Khan insisted that for the past two years — since Prime Minister
“We are clearing up the mess that was created by the previous government," he said.
PIA's reputation in the region has steadily declined since the 1970s as the carrier has been plagued by reports of numerous violations and financial losses.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission., source