Tue, 21-Oct-2025

PIA Captain Praised for bringing back flight safely despite volatile situation at Kabul airport

PIA Captain Praised for bringing back flight safely despite volatile situation at Kabul airport

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik has lauded Captain Maqsood Bijrani for bringing back flight amidst the crisis at Kabul Airport. The PIA while sharing a photo of the CEO and captain said in a Tweet, CEO PIA & Capt Maqsood Bijrani all smiles after the heroic endeavour by the Capt … Read more

Canadian Transport Authority Releases PIA Security Extension Report Amid COVID Rise

Transport Canada has released an official safety audit for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and has lauded the national carrier over its operational services up to international standards.

According to the details, the Canadian Transport Authority hoped that PIA would maintain the efficiency of flight operations.

In the PIA Security Extension Report, the operational services of Pakistan International Airlines have been declared successful in the world.

Canada Transport has prepared an audit report under the FACO and has released the audit report from August 24 to September 24, 2020.

The report states that Pakistan International Airlines has been successful in flight and airworthiness operations.

Pakistan International Airlines has enhanced flight safety performance, it is hoped that PIA will maintain the efficiency of flight operations, performance can be further improved under the long-term program, it added.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PIA Arshad Malik said that the audit report proved that Pakistan International Airlines is meeting the international standards and termed it as the success of the team. He further maintained that PIA is taking steps for more improvement.

Canada Transport PIA safety audit

Earlier, PIA had announced to resume its regular passenger flight service to Saudi Arabia.

PIA’s spokesman in a statement asked the passengers with their seats already booked or those intending to fly to Saudi Arabia to approach its nearest office or contact the call centres via 111 786 786.

Those intending to fly to Saudi Arabia should ensure their corona PCR test is conducted only at facilities approved by the Saudi government, the spokesman said.

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28 PIA pilots sacked over fake flying licenses

PIA pilots fake license

The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) sacked 60 pilots on Tuesday, out of which 28 had fake flying licences.

Twenty-seven other employees were fired over uninformed absences while five pilots were sent home after their licenses were suspected to be fake.

According to PIA’s spokesperson, Recently, two employees involved in corruption within the company were also fired and another employee was sacked over the inefficiency and carelessness.

The airline has been very particular about its employees following the coronavirus SOPs. They have, therefore, announced cash rewards and increments for all those who implement the protocols.

The spokesperson added that 13 pilots have been appreciated for their services while promotion had been granted to two others.

PIA came under strict scrutiny after a flight carrying 99 passengers crashed in Karachi on May 22. Ninety-seven people were killed and later, an initial investigation report held the pilots responsible for the accident.

Earlier in June, Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had announced in a National Assembly session that 262 out of 860 PIA pilots are suspected to have fake licenses and 150 pilots have been sacked over it.

He had also said that hiring in the company took place on the basis of political affiliations.

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PIA cabin crew members to undergo mandatory alcohol checkups

PIA

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has directed its cabin crew members to undergo medical checkups through a breath analyzer to ascertain the presence of alcohol particles.

According to the directives issued, PIA cabin crew members would undergo the test on all flights and it would be carried out at briefing rooms by a flight surgeon, a medical officer, or a ground staff supervised by the flight surgeon.

“All operating cabin crew is required to undergo the test before operating flight on must basis,” the directives issued by PIA read.

According to the authorities, the test was introduced to avoid the use of alcohol during flight operations. The advisory issued from the PIA medical department will come into force on an immediate basis.

Earlier in January 2019, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant was offloaded from a Lahore-bound flight for being under influence of alcohol.

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Turkish Airlines welcomes plan for PIA’s Istanbul flight operations

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has welcomed a plan by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to start flight operations to Turkey from next month.

PIA CEO Arshad Malik has said that the airline planned to start operations to Turkey from the first week of August.

However, Turkey’s aeronautical authorities have granted permission for the flights.

According to the plan, PIA passengers will be able to travel to Europe from Turkey via Turkish Airlines.

In his letter, the Turkish Airlines’ CEO proposed to upgrade the codeshare from unilateral to a bilateral arrangement with Pakistan.

Moreover, flights of both companies to Birmingham, London, Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Oslo can also be made with codeshare.

However, through this plan, Pakistani passengers landing at the airport in Istanbul will be able to book flights on European routes.

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262 Suspended pilots’ educational credentials and licenses are authentic

262 Suspended pilots' educational credentials and licenses are authentic

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Aviation has revealed that the educational credentials and licenses of 262 suspended pilots are authentic but irregularities have come to light in the verification process on which the licenses of 28 pilots have been revoked while 80 have been suspended. During the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation, Secretary … Read more

Shibli Faraz accuses PML-N and PPP of destroying State institutions

Shibli Faraz

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has accused PML-N and PPP of destroying the state institutions and said that PML-N and PPP have been reaping political benefits by making political recruitments and now they are showing concerns. Talking to media, Shibli Faraz said that PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills were heavily politically … Read more

Degrees of 28 PIA pilots turned out to be fake, 9 confessed to the crime

Degrees of 28 PIA pilots turned out to be fake, 9 confessed to the crime

Federal Minister for Civil Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that the degrees of 28 pilots in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been proved to be fake, 4 ghost pilots have been fired in recent days. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the Federal Minister for Aviation said that the lists of 148 suspected licensed … Read more

PIA decides to suspend 150 pilots over suspicious licenses

PIA's important decision regarding domestic flights

The management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to ground 150 of its pilots. According to the details, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed in the National Assembly on Wednesday that a large number of commercial pilots had obtained “suspicious licenses”. “About 150 pilots are being grounded,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said. He said … Read more

PIA Crash: Report presented in NA; holds pilot prime responsible

PIA

Federal Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, in National Assembly today, presented an initial investigation report on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash. Speaking in the House, the minister blamed the plane’s captain, crew members, and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) for the crash, while PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also … Read more

PIA plane crash: Investigation report will be handed over to aviation division today

PIA

Investigators have prepared the report in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) PK-8303 plane crash and will hand it over to the aviation division today (Monday). The report includes the pilot’s conversation with the air traffic controller, flight data records, CCTV footage of the landing and the cockpit voice recorder data, among other things. The PK-8303 … Read more

Saeed Ghani demands removal of CEO PIA

Saeed Ghani

The government of Sindh has expressed a lack of confidence in the investigation of Pakistan International Airlines Crash initiated by the federal government. Minister Saeed Ghani has demanded the removal of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the head of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As per details, the government … Read more