Collapse of bridges/jetties at NIA: Senate body directs CAA to investigate the issue

The Senate Standing Committee on Aviation has directed Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an investigation along with Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to find out how bridges/jetties at New Islamabad Airport collapsed.
The committee asked the CAA and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to fully cooperate with the investigation team which is directed by the panel to complete the inquiry into the incident by December 7, 2018.
The committee meeting was held here with Senator Mushahidullah Khan in the chair on Thursday.
Among others, the meeting was attended by senators including Nauman Wazir Khattak, Maula Bakhsh Chandio, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, federal secretary aviation, chairman PIA, DG CAA, chief metrologist and other relevant officials.
The committee expressed serious concerns over the incident and called for a thorough inquiry as well as a proper mechanism for regular maintenance and checking of all the jetties as it concerns life security of passengers as well as crew.
The committee was told that the board of inquiry is considering the probability of design faults, human error, maintenance issues and communication which resulted in the incident.
The senators called for a check whether there is a warranty protection clause in agreement with the company which supplied the jetties and to check if these were firsthand machinery or used.
The committee was told that after the incident on 9th October, all the jetties at all airports across the countries were inspected.
The committee called for an inquiry into the operating staff of the jetties and also about the utility of the trainings abroad which they were given for the purpose.
The committee also discussed the issues faced by passengers due to the switching of PIA system from SABRE to HIT IT.
The PIA chairman told the committee that the switch has been done due to the poor terms of the agreement due to which the PIA was paying huge money to the US company for very little services.
He said that the new software provides better facilities for administration and passengers and will show results in a few months.
The committee sought a comparative report after three months as to whether the number of complaints of passengers from the PIA has changed for the better or not.
The matter of smuggling and money laundering through air traffic was also discussed in the meeting. The committee was told about the standard procedures and new steps being taken to ensure that no one from within the airport is involved in smuggling and money laundering.