US bans PIA operations over dubious licences issue: Report

The US has imposed a ban on Pakistan International Airlines flights for at least six months, citing dubious pilots’ licenses, according to a media report on Friday. On Tuesday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered its 32 member states to bar Pakistani pilots from working, following reports of fake licenses being issued to them. The decision has been taken after 262 Pakistani pilots were grounded, whose licences the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had termed “dubious” in the National Assembly. The Express Tribune reported quoting sources that the US authorities have notified the national carrier of the ban through an email. They added that the...