Pakistan SC Suspends 16 pilots, 65 Cabin Crew over Fake Degrees

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan suspended the licences of 16 pilots and 65 cabin crew members for holding fake academic degrees.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a case pertaining to verification of degrees of pilots and cabin crew members. The CJP had taken notice of alleged appointment of pilots holding fake qualifications in January 2018, Daily Pakistan reported Wednesday.

“Degrees of 16 pilots and 65 cabin crew members were fake and their licenses have been suspended,” Counsel for Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.

“We do not want to halt anyone’s source of income. The certificates on the basis of which the licenses of pilots and cabin crew members were suspended should be accurate,” the report quoted CJP Nisar as saying.

“If someone has any issue, they should approach the relevant forum,” the CJP added. The CAA said the pilots have the right to appeal after their licenses are suspended.

An interim report submitted by CAA to the SC revealed that around five pilots of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) have not completed even their high school study. Justice Ijazul Ahsan had remarked that a person without matriculation certificate is not even authorised to drive a bus, here under-matric pilots are flying the planes” putting lives of passengers at risk, Daily Pakistan report stated in the last week of December.