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PIA Sacks 63 ‘Pilots’ Over Fake License Scandal

By Sharad Ranabhat | August 5, 2020

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has said it’s had to sack 63 employees in the last month, following a fake license scandal.

According to the Pakistani flag carrier, five out of the 63 employees were active duty ‘pilots’ who held fake licenses, whilst the remaining 58 were various other job roles within the company.

PIA has sacked 63 employees over fake license scandal | © Getty Images

According to reports from local media sources, the airline fired the sixty-three for a myriad of issues including:

  • 28 employees for fake license/education credentials;
  • 27 were fired for being absent from duty without prior notice;
  • 2 more employees were fired over embezzlement charges;
  • And 1 was fired for incompetence.

In addition, the flag-carrier took the decision to demote some retained employees due to various reasons including refusal to work.

More than 260 of the country’s 860 active pilots had fake license | Getty Images

Recent Pilot Scandal in Pakistan:

Back in June, Pakistan’s aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, said that a third of the airline pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses causing all pilots on suspicion of fake licenses, being suspended immediately.

This revelation came during initial investigation of Flight #8303 in May; The A320 crashed near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, killing a total of 97 people on-board.

Sarwan-Khan said that:

“Initial investigations had found more than 260 of the country’s 860 active pilots had either fake licences or had cheated in their exams.”

Following the investigation, on the order of the federal cabinet, the airline was forced to sack 17 pilots for having ‘dubious’ flying licences, including 2 captains and five first officers.

What do you think about this latest decision? Let us know in the comments below – Would you fly with PIA again?

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