The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has been reorganized into three separate entities: the PCAA, the Bureau of Aircraft Safety Investigation (BASI), and the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA). Each of these new bodies has been assigned specific roles.
According to the notification, the regulatory functions of the CAA will remain intact, continuing under the umbrella of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
However, commercial airport operations have been segregated to form a new entity named the Pakistan Airports Authority. This strategic move is expected to bring a sharper focus to airport management and commercial activities.
Henceforth, all the commercial airports have been made a part of the PAA, while BASI will investigate aircraft accidents. Meanwhile, all the regulatory departments will be part of the PCAA and the departments comprising flight standard, pilot licensing, aerodrome airspace, airworthiness, air transport and aeromedical will too be part of the aviation authority.
The Ministry of Aviation has announced establishment of the PAA and BASI in separate notifications dated August 9, 2024. It should be noted that the federal government had received a bill pertaining to the PCAA, PAA and BASI passed from the parliament in 2023.
Furthermore, the government said the employees have been transferred to the relevant departments as per their experience and expertise.
This restructuring marks a pivotal change in Pakistan’s aviation sector, with the potential to significantly impact the industry's regulatory and operational landscape.
Pakistan came under scanner after an year 2020 statement in Pakistan’s National Assembly, when Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots in the country
“did not take the exam themselves” and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf," “They don’t have flying experience.”
Pakistan International Airlines had to ground all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately. Complicating the aviation industry in Pakistan EASA banned the national carrier and other Pakistan based Airlines from operating in Europian Airspace.
The Pakistani government has also announced the interim appointments for two key positions within the aviation sector.
Deputy Director General of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), Nadir Shafi Dar, has been assigned the additional role of Director General of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) for a period of ninety days.
Meanwhile, the Air Vice Marshal Taimur Iqbal, currently serving as the Additional Director General of the PCAA, has been appointed as the Director General of the Pakistan Airports Authority for the same duration.
These temporary appointments are intended to fill the leadership gaps until permanent appointments can be made.
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