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Bloomberg
US aviation regulators downgraded the safety ranking of Pakistan’s civilian airline system in the latest action following revelations that hundreds of commercial pilots received faked licenses.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s action adds another hurdle to Pakistan International Airlines Corp’s ability to operate into the US, effectively blocking any carrier from that country from adding flights.
The US Transportation Department earlier this month separately notified PIA it was halting all operations as a result of the scandal. The EU took a similar action last month.
The FAA’s ranking system, known as the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program, audits countries to see whether they meet the minimum standard for aviation safety set by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization. PIA had received special permission to fly to the US this spring after several years of not operating there.
Pakistan said last month that 262 out of over 850 airline pilots had fake certificates and didn’t actually take the government’s qualification exams.