The United Arab Emirates is seeking to verify the credentials of Pakistani pilots and engineers employed in its airlines, as global concern mounts after the South Asian government grounded 262 pilots for holding “dubious” qualifications.
In a letter to Pakistani aviation authorities, the Director General of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi requested verification of the credentials of Pakistani pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and flight operations officers working in the Middle Eastern country.
Pakistan has a total of 860 pilots, 107 of whom work for foreign airlines, according to the country’s aviation minister.