KARACHI: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has partnered with international training organisations to meet the shortage of cockpit pilots in the Asia Pacific region, aiming to boost the aviation industry’s contribution to the national economy.
Talking to the Business Recorder, PCAA Director General Nadir Shafi Dar said: “There’s a shortage of cockpit pilots in the Asia Pacific region,” highlighting Pakistan’s potential to leverage its 240million population. The initiative aims to produce surplus pilots for both domestic and international markets, Dar added.
Director General PCAA informed that the program has already succeeded in its first phase, with eight of twelve Pakistani trainees now employed as second officers by domestic airlines after completing training in Pakistan and Sharjah.
“Two international training organisations have so far approached PCAA and one of them has trained 12 Pakistani students; eight of them are now employed by domestic carriers,” he informed.
Furthermore, he said that Rs.10-15 million approximately had to be spent for pilot training but the program being run by these training schools cost nothing to the students as these international training institutes signed agreements with different airlines across the globe.
“The program, dubbed ‘training cockpit to commercial cockpit’ eliminates student training costs, typically ranging from Rs.10-15 million. International training institutes fund education through pre-arranged agreements with global airlines, guaranteeing job placement upon graduation,” Dar said.
PCAA is also expanding the initiative by upgrading local flying clubs’ capacity and developing a cabin crew training academy, Dar said and added that PCAA has also planned to collaborate with financial institutions to support additional student funding.
This initiative marks a significant shift in making pilot careers more accessible beyond the elite class while addressing the regional pilot shortage and contributing to Pakistan’s economic growth through skilled workforce export.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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