Reference to Amraiz Khan’s report and comments by Zaman on controversial and highly condemnable decision by CAA to grant an AOC to an airline, owned by Indian nationals of ill-repute, whose airline was banned from operating. Granting permission to airlines registered in India and owned by their nationals, involved in regular scheduled operations, is no cause for suspicion, because Indian Civil Aviation is regulated by ICAO. Responsibility for granting AOC lies solely with state granting permission and checking credentials of owners, their past records etc before giving consent. If reports circulating in airline industry are to be relied upon Rayyan Air, whose aircrafts were registered by CAA Pakistan, has been banned from operating after they were found involved in operating unauthorized flights to Damascus in violation of UN directives, UAE state policy and declared stance of Pakistan. This same company operates another airline with aircraft registered in Armenia, which has also been issued with notice for termination by Jeddah, because of involvement in unsafe operation with aged aircraft, without proper maintenance.
A cargo aircraft of this airline, operated by Pakistan licensed crew crashed in Nigeria after landing on a runway, notified undergoing maintenance, apart from their highly suspicious operation. The same airline, along with other non-scheduled charter airlines were implicated in gross irregularities, when investigations revealed that billions of rupees paid for landing and parking by non-scheduled airlines were pocketed by CAA’ top brass responsible for running Karachi International Airport during the tenure of Nadeem Yusafzai, the controversial DG CAA, responsible for permitting this airline permission to operate.
After all what sinister motives did these airlines have as they had paid landing fee etc, but did not want their presence to be recorded? As Karachi and the rest of Pakistan have been suffering from terrorists armed with latest weapons, smuggled into country with connivance of corrupt men, who have no stakes in this country. Such incidences expose corruption infected bureaucracy not just in CAA, but those responsible for monitoring working of these autonomous state owned corporations.
S. KHALIL,
Sialkot, April 28.