THERE is only a small number of Pakistani pilot licence holders in the country, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

 A CAAM spokesman however refused to disclose the accurate number of such pilots employed here.

“Not to worry, there are not that many. Quite a small number,” the spokesman told The Malaysian Insight.

Malaysia’s low-cost and national air carriers meanwhile confirmed they have no Pakistani pilots on their payroll.

Malindo Airways’ public relation and government affairs director told The Malaysian Insight that all their pilots are Malaysians.

“We employ 100% Malaysian pilots holding locally issued pilot licenses, and zero foreigners,” he said.

The country’s largest low-cost carrier, AirAsia and AirAsia X also confirmed they currently do not have any Pakistani pilots in their employment.

When contacted, Malaysia Airlines also said they have no Pakistani pilots.

Yesterday, CAAM said it was temporarily suspending Pakistani pilot licence holders currently employed with local carriers pending the verification of their licences. 

The suspension comes following a revelation by the Pakistani aviation minister, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, on the alarming number of Pakistani pilots holding fraudulent licences.

CAAM chief executive officer Capt Chester Voo said the temporary suspension was in the interest of the safety and security of Malaysia’s civil aviation.

Voo added that the aviation authority is currently making all efforts to verify the authenticity of licences held by the license holders with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).

According to PCAA, 40% of pilots, including inactive ones, had fake licences, while 262 of the 860 active Pakistani pilots had not sat for the pilot exams themselves.

Several countries have since decided to ground Pakistani pilots and ban Pakistan International Airlines from operating flights in and out of their countries. – July 3, 2020.