Travel ban hits aviation sector

ISLAMABAD: As the coronavirus outbreak made headlines, countries across the globe initiated lockdowns and suspended international air travel in 2020 in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, delivering a heavy blow to the aviation industry. In the aftermath of the...

PIA’s ongoing woes

THE disastrous consequences of the Civil Aviation Authority’s cavalier approach towards its core regulatory duties, particularly where the national flag carrier is concerned, are continuing to play out. Only last Friday, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan expressed...

SITUATIONER: SPARKS FLY IN PIA

AMID a sense of fear and insecurity that has prevailed among thousands of employees, the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) management is moving forward with its plan to cut the existing workforce by half and shift the head office of the national flag carrier from...

Can capital manage the white elephant?

THIS refers to the news item ‘PIA moving head offices to Islamabad next month’ (Dec 21). One is at a loss to comprehend the reason for this and the circumstances that motivated the people at the helm of affairs to contemplate shifting the PIA head offices to...

PIA forms body to probe irregularities in recruitment

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday constituted a four-member team to investigate irregularities in the recruitment of daily wage employees in the previous tenures. The team will be headed by GM HR Wing Commander Kamran Anjum. According...

PIA’s restructuring

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is moving its head offices, in phases, to Islamabad. Besides this, the PIA management is planning to curtail different expenses incurred under the head of medical facilities given to employees, which the management calls a huge...

PIA offers EASA to restrict EU operations to limited pilots

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is consistently beguiling the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with some impetuous offers to get permitted for EU operations again as the airline has now offered to restrict its EU operations to limited pilots, who...

EU Ban

Just as the Aviation Minister expressed high hopes for the lifting of the EU ban for PIA, the body itself has announced plans to extend it by another three months, at least until further inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In the end, what we see is a...

CAA DG appointment challenged in high court

LAHORE: The appointment of retired Flt Lt Khaqan Murtaza as director general of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been challenged before the Lahore High Court. A citizen namely Mian Khurram Aftab assailed the appointment of the DG in a petition filed through...

EU ban won’t be lifted before CAA audit, PIA told

KARACHI: A day after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan expressed hopes that the ban imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate flights in Europe would be lifted soon, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) informed the national flag...

European ban on PIA likely to be lifted soon: minister

TAXILA: Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that most concerns of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regarding process of issuing licences to commercial pilots have been addressed and it is hoped the ban imposed on Pakistan International...

PM wants NA speaker to immediately accept resignations

ISLAMABAD: Prime Mi­­nister Imran Khan, during a meeting with a group of his spokespersons on Thursday, said the government would ask the National Assembly speaker to immediately accept resignations of opposition parliamentarians, whenever they came. The prime...

Report on PIA jet crash based on assumptions: CAA

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board’s (AAIB’s) report on the December 2016 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash near Havelian is based on assumptions and overlooks multiple technical details, stated a report submitted by the Civil...

CAA heaps blame on pilots for PIA Havelian crash

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday questioned the credibility of Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board’s inquiry report into the PIA’s ATR crash at Havelian in the Sindh High Court, submitting that “AAIB report seems to be based on lots of...

PIA still top-heavy

Will still have too many employees after VSS PIA aims to have about 7,000 to 8,000 employees after the current Voluntary Separation Scheme, down from the current count of 14,500 employees, which it currently has for 29 planes and plans to outsource certain functions...

Expensive lease of PIA’s ATR-72 aircrafts comes on FIA radar

KARACHI: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a probe into the purchase of ATR-72 aircraft by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on an expensive dry lease for six years. The FIA has decided to issue notices to all those responsible for purchasing the PIA...

Pilot licences: SC dismisses PIACL’s report

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL)’s report regarding pilot licences. A three-judge special bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard Air Marshal Arshad Mehmmod Malik’s...

SC says PIA’s report just an eyewash

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) Monday expressed dissatisfaction over the report submitted by PIA terming it just an eyewash and sought a comprehensive report regarding its business revival plan. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the...