PAKISTAN International Airlines (PIA) has been banned from the US because nearly a third of the nation's pilots had fake certificates, reports Bloomberg.
The US Transportation Department notified PIA lawyers in Washington that its authorisation to operate to US destinations was being immediately suspended.
PIA has been wracked by years of financial losses and on May 22 suffered a fatal crash in which 98 people died after pilots of an Airbus SE jet inexplicably retracted the landing gear just before touchdown, damaging its engines. The flight crew tried to lift off again, but the engines failed a short time later.
Pakistan said last month that 262 out of over 850 airline pilots had fake certificates and didn't sit in the qualification exams themselves that are conducted by the regulator. Pakistan fired 28 pilots this week while it continues to investigate the rest.
SeaNews Turkey
The US Transportation Department notified PIA lawyers in Washington that its authorisation to operate to US destinations was being immediately suspended.
PIA has been wracked by years of financial losses and on May 22 suffered a fatal crash in which 98 people died after pilots of an Airbus SE jet inexplicably retracted the landing gear just before touchdown, damaging its engines. The flight crew tried to lift off again, but the engines failed a short time later.
Pakistan said last month that 262 out of over 850 airline pilots had fake certificates and didn't sit in the qualification exams themselves that are conducted by the regulator. Pakistan fired 28 pilots this week while it continues to investigate the rest.
SeaNews Turkey