US Bans Pakistan International Airlines over Fake Pilot Licence Scandal

In June, Pakistan International Airlines grounded about a third of its pilots over fake or dubious licences. AFP
In June, Pakistan International Airlines grounded about a third of its pilots over fake or dubious licences. AFP
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US Bans Pakistan International Airlines over Fake Pilot Licence Scandal

In June, Pakistan International Airlines grounded about a third of its pilots over fake or dubious licences. AFP
In June, Pakistan International Airlines grounded about a third of its pilots over fake or dubious licences. AFP

The United States has banned Pakistan International Airlines from operating chartered flights to the country, the airline said,.

The decision came after it announced that nearly 150 pilots would be grounded over fake or dubious licences.

This also comes after European Union aviation regulators decided to bar the state-run carrier for six months.

PIA said in a statement that the Federal Aviation Authority in the US had revoked approval for the airline due to "recent events identified by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority that are of serious concern to aviation safety," according to AFP.

In June, Pakistan's aviation minister said that a government review had found around 260 of the country's 860 active pilots hold fake licenses or cheated on exams.

PIA at the time said it would immediately ground about a third of its 434 pilots, just weeks after one of its planes crashed in Karachi killing 98 people -- an accident blamed on pilot error.

So far 17 pilots have been fired in the first phase of its investigation, a PIA spokesman told AFP.

The airline had suspended its commercial operations to the US in 2017 after booking financial losses on the route.



Dozens Arrested as Investigation That Saw Istanbul’s Mayor Jailed Deepens

21 April 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: A student holds a Turkish flag during a high school students protest at Kugulu Park to protest the political process that started with the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. (SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: A student holds a Turkish flag during a high school students protest at Kugulu Park to protest the political process that started with the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. (SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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Dozens Arrested as Investigation That Saw Istanbul’s Mayor Jailed Deepens

21 April 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: A student holds a Turkish flag during a high school students protest at Kugulu Park to protest the political process that started with the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. (SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: A student holds a Turkish flag during a high school students protest at Kugulu Park to protest the political process that started with the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. (SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

Police in Istanbul detained 47 people Saturday in dawn raids linked to a corruption investigation that saw the city’s mayor imprisoned last month, leading to Türkiye's largest protests in more than a decade.

Among those arrested in Istanbul, the neighboring province of Tekirdag and the capital, Ankara, were senior officials from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, local media reported.

The March 19 detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule, saw hundreds of thousands of people flood the streets of Turkish cities to protest what many consider a politically motivated case. The government insists Türkiye's judicial system is independent.

In a statement, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said simultaneous operations were conducted against 53 suspects, six of whom remain at large. Searches were continuing at homes and workplaces, it added.

Demonstrations against Imamoglu’s jailing and wider democratic backsliding saw more than 2,000 people arrested for taking part in banned protests last month. Many of them were students but journalists and trades unionists were also among the detainees.

Imamoglu, who also faces terror-related charges in a parallel investigation launched last month, was nominated the presidential candidate for his Republican People’s Party, or CHP, while in prison. Elections are due in 2028 but could come earlier.

The cases against him, which include several others that pre-date the March investigations, could see him banned from politics.

The CHP-supporting Cumhuriyet newspaper reported that Saturday’s arrests included the deputy secretary general of Istanbul municipality, Imamoglu’s private secretary and the head of the city’s water company. Gokhan Gunaydin, a senior CHP lawmaker, said the municipality was being “effectively rendered inoperable” by the arrests.

The wife of Imamoglu’s adviser was also detained Saturday. The adviser was among some 100 arrested in March’s wave of arrests and remains in prison.

Demonstrations against what the opposition calls the “March 19 coup” are continuing, although on a smaller scale. Ankara governor’s office said Saturday that 30 people were arrested at a protest the previous evening. The CHP was due to hold a rally later Saturday in the Mediterranean city of Mersin.

The party won a swath of major cities in 2019 local elections, making further gains in last year’s polls. In Istanbul, Imamoglu’s victory ended 25 years of control for Erdogan’s party and its predecessors.