Pakistan has reportedly resolved aviation safety concerns that arose from a scandal over fake pilot licenses in 2020 that tainted the country and its flag carrier, PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International).

This is according to a January 4 letter by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Khaqan Murtaza, leaked to the media. ch-aviation could not verify the document's authenticity, and the PCAA was not immediately available for comment.

The scandal broke in June 2020 when PIA had disclosed that 150 out of its 426 pilots held fake licenses. It then emerged that 262 out of 860 active pilots in the country had cheated by having someone else write their pilot exams. In July 2020, PIA fired 52 employees, 25 for having fake qualifications. All this followed the May 22, 2020, crash of a PIA A320-200, in Karachi that killed 97 people.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) reacted by barring Pakistani airlines from their respective territories. EASA withdrew its Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation for Pakistani carriers, while the FAA downgraded Pakistan to Category 2 safety status, which meant no Pakistani-registered aircraft could enter US territory.

According to the ICAO letter, an ICAO inspection team conducted a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) audit in Pakistan from November 29 to December 10, 2021.

"During the audit, the ICAO team reviewed the corrective actions taken and related evidence presented by Pakistan to address the Significant Safety Concern (SSC) – [SSC/PEL-01/09-2020/PAK issued to Pakistan on September 18, 2020] - regarding the licensing system of the state, specifically in relation to the examinations conducted by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and by delegated or designated training organisations prior to the issuance of licenses and ratings."

"In accordance with the USOAP SCC process[…], the ICAO Significant Safety Concern (SSC) Validation Committee reviewed the actions and relevant evidence validated in Pakistan. The Committee determined that the actions taken by Pakistan had successfully resolved SSC/PEL-01/09-200/PAK," it states.

According to local news reports, the PCAA hopes to resume licensing pilots in February 2022.