Pakistan CAA’s Dual Face Exposed!
Karachi – Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and United Kingdom (UK) Department for Transport (DfT) conducted comprehensive joint inspection of selected airports in Pakistan. This was undertaken as a part of the understanding between the two Governments in relation to direct flights by British operators from Pakistan.
The comprehensive audits of airports included flight security arrangements at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP) and Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) during the month of November / December, 2021. The aims included verification of security arrangements in place at these airports and to gauge the level of compliance with required standards by various entities/functionaries that included ASF, etc. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was one of the entities.
The joint inspections conducted were the result of a request by UK DfT earlier that were accorded approval by the PCAA Head Quarters (HQ). Subsequently, instructions were passed on to all the entities/functionaries to undertake requisite preparedness in this regard.
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Thereafter, Civil Aviation inspectors at their respective airports carried out assessment of the relevant facilities. This was followed by a pre-DfT inspection of all entities, including PIA Cargo and PIA Catering, undertaken by inspectors from Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Headquarters to instruct and implement any improvements considered necessary.
Finally, the PCAA-DfT joint inspections of airports mentioned above were undertaken by the officials of Directorate of Security from Pakistan Civil Aviation Headquarters Karachi and the DfT inspectors from the UK. The overall result ranged from above average to good performance to the satisfaction of UK DfT for several entities / functionaries at IIAP and AIIAP.
This notification is issued in response to a news item published by various sections of print and electronic media, one of which was a Tweet on 5 December 2021 by a high-level functionary of PIA wherein while commenting on UK DfT’s audit of PIA, it was mentioned that,” it would have positive impact on upcoming ICAO audit, …….”.
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It is therefore clarified that Pakistan CAA being a regulatory body operates on the behalf of the Govt of Pakistan. PCAA is the sole authority for undertaking governing and supervising functions on behalf of the state.
It is also the only authority in Pakistan that conducts joint inspections or other regulatory functions with several foreign countries and in coordination with the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). Its scope is far beyond the functioning of any carrier that was a mere component of the above-mentioned activity.
To read more about the Civil Aviation Authority, click here!
PCAA, which was formed in December of 1982, is considered to be an autonomous body thereby, it has the sole right to establish its own laws and code of conduct. Ultimately, there is some potential for such a body to turn into a mafia which coerces individuals and/or other bodies into its fixed mold or worse, blackmailing them into submission.
However, fact of the matter is that we have appointed highly incompetent, inexperienced and unqualified people on these positions. Unfortunately, the CAA has been reduced to a dumping ground for retired services officers, lacking in skills and competence for oversight of such projects. It takes more than the skills of a pilot to serve as an advisor for aviation or perform the role of DG CAA.
To read more about the Civil Aviation Authority, click here!
There is no lack of qualified and experienced specialists in Pakistan. However, it is a lack of political will, integrity and ethics of governance such as conflicts of interest, disregard for merit and failure to enforce accountability for wastage of public funds that haunts all development projects and their regulatory oversight in Pakistan.
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Nepotism, corruption and mismanagement continues to engulf the PCAA. Many believe that favouritism and nepotism has ruined the performance of the authority risking lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The only criteria for appointment or promotion in the CAA is to have sufficient strings to pull, or a close relative/friend in authority.
Transparency and discipline must be enforced within the CAA and other regulatory agencies. The Government of Pakistan should take action against the authorities who are responsible for the damage and review the current organisational setup of the recruiting body.
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