The Pakistan International Airlines spokesperson said on Tuesday that the European Union safety agency has suspended the airlines from operating in Europe for the next six months effective from July 1, 2020. Which would mean that no Pakistan’s flights would be allowed to enter European states for the next six months, starting from tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1277965887987838976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“EASA has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020, with the right to appeal against this decision,” a PIA statement said, adding that PIA would discontinue all its flights to Europe temporarily. The decision was taken in light of the fake pilot license scandal in Pakistan.
Fake pilot license scam in Pakistan
Recently, Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar khan made a shocking revelation saying that more than 30 per cent of civilian pilots in Pakistan carry fake licences and so are not qualified to fly a plane.
While addressing Pakistan’s National assembly, the aviation minister said that some 262 pilots in the country paid someone to sit on their behalf in the exam to clear the examination. These findings were revealed after a probe into the PIA plane crash in Karachi last month. However, Khan did not mention whether the pilots on board the crashed plane were fake pilots or not.
Following the publication of the report into the crash, Pakistan International Airlines grounded 150 pilots suspected of having fake licenses. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane which crashed near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last month happened due to human error, a probe report revealed. The report had suggested that the pilots were discussing the coronavirus crisis during the landing.
Pakistan responsible for 50% of all ‘imported’ Coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom
This news came against the backdrop of reports that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has accounted for over 50 per cent of the total ‘imported’ Coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom. According to reports, about 190 flights have landed in the United Kingdom from Pakistan since March 1. Public health records revealed that a total of 30 people who had come to the UK from abroad have been diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus.
Reportedly, several passengers from Pakistan had to be admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) upon their arrival in Britain. Earlier, Emirates had cancelled its flights from Pakistan after 30 travellers were diagnosed with Coronavirus on a flight to Hong Kong. As per reports, around 2 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights arrive in the UK every day. Even though initial flights were meant to evacuate stranded British and Pakistani nationals, later, flight operations were resumed for daily travel.