Seminar on international aviation safety concludes

A two-day seminar on international aviation safety concluded on Wednesday with an emphasis on improving the safety measures taken at the airports for passengers and cargo and also to improve the overall standards of the aviation industry. The seminar was organised by the Pakistan Air Line Pilots' Association (PALPA) in collaboration with the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Association (IFALPA) and International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI).
President of (IFALPA) Captain Carlos Limon said that, although improving the safety standards and ensuring passengers' and cargo's safety is our top priority, but along with this also comes a responsibility to ensure that those who join the aviation industry after us, gets a sound environment to work in. On behalf of the aviation industry, he said that the industry would continue to adopt better standards to ensure the well being of all concerned.
He also said that improvements take place with the joint efforts of pilots and his colleagues. He emphasised that the technical investigations should be given priority. Carlos observed that the issue regarding the schedules of flight and the duty timings of the aviation staff was a global one and is not merely restricted to this region.
He said that pilots were facing the problems of excessive flying hours because of their concerned management's tactics to save the airline's operational costs. Former aviation professional and Federal Secretary Road Safety and Traffic Education Captain Amjad Faizi, while giving details of flight and corporate safety said that about 52 percent of the total civil aviation activity takes place in the USA and Canada and around 32 percent in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The remaining 16 percent civil aviation activity takes place in the rest of the world, he pointed out.
He urged the PALPA to assume the role of 'Nation Builder' in passenger safety. He also requested the IFALPA to assist the PALPA in performing this extra-ordinary feat. President PALPA Captain Suhail Baluch thanked the chief guest, Captain Carlos Limon, President IFALPA and all the speakers and participants for showing solidarity with the association in its efforts to ensure safety measures for the flights. He also praised Wing Commander Naseem Ahmad on writing the book 'Improvement of Aviation Safety in Pakistan and South Asia', and said that the book would enlighten aviation experts of the region and prove to be a guiding light for them to ensure air travel safety.
He said that 'safety' had become the most important issue in the aviation industry world-wide as the international carriers, air travel safety boards and international civil aviation authorities were spending a big sum on its research and development to make air travel safe.
Unfortunately in Pakistan, passengers' safety issues are not given as much importance as they should be given, he observed and added that the PALPA had arranged more than four safety seminars in the past. General Manager Corporate Safety PIA Captain Salman Azhar and GM Flight Safety JS Air Captain Tanzeem A. Khan also spoke on the occasion.