ISLAMABAD Pakistani aviation authorities on Friday dismissed five officials who were involved in a pilots' license scam after a shocking revelation in the wake of the Airbus 320 crash in Karachi last month.
The five dismissed officers are senior positions in the Civil Aviation Authority, aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said. Khan did not reveal his role in the all but known artistic license scam.
He did not elaborate on any specific allegations leveled at him, but in addition to dismissing officers from their jobs, they also face criminal charges. Khan told private airlines not to allow improperly licensed pilots to fly their planes.
The scandal took place this week when Khan claimed that 262 pilots had worked for the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines and three private airlines, that they had received pilot licenses through fraud and others had tested them.
Khan made the announcement in parliament on Wednesday, delivering the preliminary results of the investigation into the May 22 crash.
The government has not yet said whether the pilot and co had tapped the pilot's license on the flight to Karachi. Khan said the two pilots were medically healthy and highly experienced, with Pakistani researchers claiming that there was human error behind the crash.
The PIA said on Thursday that it had begun the process of sending 150 pilots into the field and ending their contracts. The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, said it was dangerous and that duplicate licenses were "serious errors in licensing and security checks."
The scandal shocked many Pakistanis, including the families of passengers who died in a crowded residential area of Flight PK 8303 while attempting to land in the port city of Karachi. Two were left on the bus and one girl died on the ground.
Khan did not elaborate on the allegations that pilots mistakenly used them to obtain licenses to fly commercial aircraft. He stated that he did not take the test to obtain the required certificates issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Khan said that of the 262 pilots who cheated in this way, 141 worked for the PIA, including 450 pilots - more than a third of the workforce. The rest of the pilots worked for private airlines.
"Some 141 pilots are not allowed to fly the aircraft. Some say our actions will have a negative impact on the reputation of Pakistan International Airlines, but we are taking these measures to ensure passenger safety," Khan said. "
For the past two years - since Prime Minister Imran Khan took office - Khan has insisted that a fake licensed pilot cannot get a job at the PIA.
We are cleaning up the mess created by the previous government, ”he said.
The PIA's reputation in the region has steadily declined since the 1970s, as the carrier has been plagued with reports of numerous breaches and financial losses.
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