The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) may ban Pakistani airlines from flying to 188 countries over its Civil Aviation Authority's failure to meet the international standards with respect to the pilot licensing and their training

In a letter dated November 3, The ICAO issued a serious warning to PCAA over the pilot licensing issue and failure to meet international standards, according to a report by The Express Tribune. Consequently, the country's aircraft and pilots, are likely to be barred from flying to 188 countries in the world.

"This will have serious consequences and could be a total disaster for Pakistan's aviation industry," a Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (Palpa) spokesperson said, adding that they had been raising this issue since June, this year but it was neglected by the concerned authorities.

"Palpa had forwarded several options to revamp the system in accordance with the international practices and also given a presentation," it added.

The association has now requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to set up a special task force to address the matter on urgent basis.

Earlier, country’s national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had been barred from flying to the United Kingdom and the European Union due to the licence scam. The scam had come to light after country’s Federal Minister of Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed that as many as 262 pilots, including 141 of PIA aline, held fake credentials.

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