EU suspends PIA safety certificate
KARACHI: As a consequence of increasingly unprofessional and incompetent management, the fears regarding the devastation of the national airline are finally crystallising as the air safety certificate granted by the European Union (EU) to the PIA has been suspended with immediate effect. Sources have claimed that PIA's Europe bound flights may also be cancelled in the near future.
In 2004, the national airline PIA gained the EU sponsored European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) approval (part 145). Following obtaining this certificate, the standard of PIA engineering was equal to that of any other European country. Within the first year of EASA approval, PIA began repairing foreign aircrafts, and earned $50,00,000 which became a continuous source of income.
However, the current PIA management and bureaucracy, despite continuous warning from the EU, has failed to rectify and remedy its mistakes, and PIA's EASA certificate has subsequently been suspended on this issue.
According to airline sources, leaders and representatives of PIA and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) on a recent trip to Brussels had been warned by the European Union of the increasing risk and hazard to the national airline's flight safety and were warned that till March 12, there should be no disobeying flight safety regulations; however, despite this word of caution, PIA still refused to comply with EU levels and standards of flight safety.
According to reports, the first violation manifested itself during an inspection of a PIA aircraft, when it was discovered that the pilot's belongings were scattered all over the cockpit. The second violation to come to light was regarding flight cargo—in another PIA aircraft, bulk cargo was not properly loaded. During the flight, the cargo was dislodged as a result of which the cargo door could not be opened. An immediate consequence of this violation was that PIA was denied the business privilege of fixing and repairing foreign aircraft.
Experts have revealed that the EU's EASA has suspended its certificate with immediate effect and has allowed PIA a 2-month period in which the national airline may appeal against the decision. It was also said that if efforts were not taken to rectify and remedy its mistakes and flaws, the next likely step would be that PIA flights would be banned from landing in Europe altogether.
According to PIA sources, the incompetence and mistakes of the Deputy Managing Director Engineering, Director Engineering, Director Airport Services, Director Flight Operations, Chief Pilot Safety and Director Civil Aviation have all resulted in this humiliation and damage to the credibility of the national airline.
