UAE seeks license verification of 50 Pakistani pilots

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has written to the Pakistan government to verify licenses of Pakistani pilots working in different airlines of the Gulf country.

In its letter issued on June 29, the Emirati Civil Aviation Authority also attached a list of pilots to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority DG Hassan Nasir Jamy.

“In the wake of the recent announcements by the Minister of Aviation of Pakistan regarding pilots holding fake licenses, we would like to request your good office to very the licensing credentials of the attached pilots who are currently holding UAE pilot’s licenses based on licenses and qualification issued by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority,” it wrote.

The UAE also requested a clarification between fake and suspect cases.

The ECAA also requested Pakistan to provide confirmation of licenses of a number of aircraft maintenance engineers and flight operations officers who converted their licenses issued by the PCAA.

The development comes a week after Pakistan Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s announcement regarding grounding of 262 Pakistani pilots suspected of dodging their exams.

On Tuesday, the European Union Air Safety Agency and UK suspended the authorisation for the PIA to operate in Europe for six months.