Mohammad Jamil
FOLLOWING a fatal plane crash in Karachi last month, the debate is raging in the media after Pakistan’s aviation authorities grounded 262 airline pilots whose flying licences were either fake or were not issued after proper examinations. During TV talk shows majority of the participants and analysts opined that political appointments by previous governments, frequent labour strife and changes in leadership whereby six chief executive officers had to resign in five years due to machinations of trade unions, have brought one of the best airlines to the present pass. In January, acting upon orders of the Supreme Court the PIA Administration had expedited action against employees possessing fake degrees. There is a perception that the matter of fake licenses of pilots could have been handled in a better way. Anyhow, there is a chance to clean the Augean stables, and also an opportunity to regain the lost glory of the PIA.
During the 24 June parliamentary session, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had said that another inquiry had found 262 pilots – out of a total of 860 active pilots in the country – obtained their licenses through cheating and having others take exams for them. He said there had been an investigation into collusion between pilots and civil aviation officials since late 2018. The disgrace has cast a shadow over the credibility of the Civil Aviation Authority. The IATA voiced alarm over the issue, calling it “a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator.” Fahad Masood, a retired Pakistan Air Force officer and former employee of the International Flight Safety Foundation, told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that news would tarnish the image of the country’s aviation industry. The fact of the matter is that PIA’s reputation has already suffered due to mismanagement, frequent cancellations and financial difficulties.
Anyhow, PIA has grounded pilots even on the slightest suspicion of fake licence, which has by default raised the safety of planes of PIA and other airlines; hence this act of moral courage on the part of PTI government should be appreciated. Meanwhile, the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the authorisation for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in Europe for six months, while the UK Civil Aviation Agency has suspended PIA flight operations from three airports — Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester. Prime Minister Imran Khan on the floor of Assembly said that had he not stopped the pilots with fake licences, the onus of blood due to plane crashes would have been on his head. According to sources, over 400 employees including pilots and air hostesses had been either suspended or terminated from service on suspicion of holding fake degrees.
In addition, the Administration had also reported presence of ghost employees hired on daily wages; anyhow PIA had sacked 194 ghost workers in two months. These ghost employees were hired by third parties and their salaries were paid from payroll of the national carrier, sources reported, adding most of them used to receive salaries even when not working. The PIA Unions/Associations are affiliated with the PPP, PML-N and Jamat-i-Islami and had the backing of every government and operate as a parallel management. They act as a stumbling block in the airline’s improvement effort. Appointments/transfers/postings/promotions are generally not made on merit. The promotions within the organization mostly take place under political influence and sometimes on a seniority basis rather than being purely performance-based. According to former PIA official, many of the personnel holding positions of Deputy Managing Director and Director since early 2008 do not qualify to be even supervisors.
After the plane crash in Karachi, the revelation by the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan about dubious licences was criticized by opposition parties that it brought some disgrace; but there is an opportunity to revamp the airlines. Anyhow, PIA grounded more than 140 pilots after revelation in the National Assembly that some pilots held ‘dubious and fake’ licences. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Friday terminated the services of 52 employees on various charges, including fake or tampered degrees, breach of rules and unauthorised disclosure of official information to media. PIA, however, awarded appreciation letters to 11 employees for showing dedication and commitment to their duty. “Discipline is the most important aspect of any organisation as it binds the employees and motivates them to follow organisation’s rules and regulations. It is, therefore, important to appreciate hardworking and dedicated employees and punish defaulters found guilty after transparent and unbiased inquiries as per law,” PIA’s HR department said in a letter to all employees.
On 26 June, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had said the pilots were under investigation and five senior officials at the Civil Aviation Authority were sacked over the scandal may be prosecuted. The pilots include 141 at state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which employs 450 pilots. The remaining pilots worked for private airlines and charter services. On June 25, PIA said it grounded 150 of its pilots for obtaining a license through cheating and began to terminate their contracts. The IATA and EASA should appreciate the moral courage of PTI government and review its decision of banning PIA flights. Arshad Malik, CEO, PIA, is hopeful that EU would review their decision and allow PIA to continue its operations. It has to be mentioned that following the 2018 crash, it was discovered that the test date on the pilot’s licence was a public holiday, suggesting that testing could not have taken place on that day. Recent investigations found that more than 260 of the country’s 860 active pilots had either fake licenses or had cheated in their exams. A PIA spokesman confirmed to AFP news agency that the probe found about 150 of its 434 pilots had either bogus or suspicious licences.
—The writer is a senior journalist based in Lahore.
