Published on Sunday, July 5, 2020

Malaysia next country to ground pilots from Pakistan

Malaysia is the latest nation to temporarily ground pilots with licenses issued in Pakistan.

Authorities in Pakistan uncovered widespread abuse of the system with hundreds of pilots allegedly paying others to take the pilot exam on their behalf.

The scandal led to the EU banning Pakistan International Airlines from flying to Europe.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said it suspended all Pakistani pilots flying in the country while licenses are checked.

"CAAM is currently making all efforts to verify the authenticity of these Pakistani licence holders. Licence holders that are verified as valid will be reinstated immediately," the regulator said.

Kuwait and Vietnam have also grounded expat Pakistani pilots working in those countries.

Pakistan's aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said about 30% of all pilots in Pakistan were thought to have bogus licenses.