By Minahil Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: Airblue has submitted a report to the Supreme Court on the verification of its pilots’ licences and said only two pilots possess suspected fake credentials.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed had ordered the heads of Airblue, PIA and Serena Air to verify the licences of the pilots in their employ and submit a report.
The Ministry of Aviation sent Airblue a list of nine pilots it employed that possess suspected fake licences. Seven pilots on the list left the airline in 2014, 2015 and 2018.
The remaining two pilots, Fida Muhammad Khalil and Muhammad Naveed Khokhar, were still serving in Airblue. Khalil resigned on July 5 and Khokhar had been suspended on June 26.
He has filed an appeal so further action against him is pending until the appeal is decided on, read the report. “During the years 2018-19, 100 pilots were working in Airblue Ltd. All their educational certificates and degrees were put under verification and as per report of concerned institutions the educational certificates and degrees of 98 pilots were found correct and genuine.â€
The educational documents of two pilots, Muhammad Abdullah Asghar and Muhammad Javed Malik, were found to be fake and they were fired. Asghar was fired on September 9, 2018 and Malik on April 24, 2019. There are 85 pilots working with Airblue Ltd and none of them possess suspected licences and educational documents, the report stated.
