Advisor to Prime Minister on Aviation, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, directed the relevant officials of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) that all efforts should be made to produce optimum results within given resources in the shortest possible time for improvement in the efficiency and reliability of the national flag-carrier.
"Engineering was one of the most important departments of PIA. Relevant officials must ensure high engineering standards to provide better service not only to the PIA but other airlines as well," he urged during his visit to the Engineering and Line Maintenance Department of PIA. Secretary Aviation and acting Chairman PIA, M. Irfan Elahi accompanied him.
Chief Technical Officer Amir Ali gave a detailed briefing on the working of various components of engineering department and the challenges being faced by the airline. Expressing his views on the occasion, the advisor said that capacity of PIA's engineering department must be enhanced so that it could not only provide better service to the PIA but it could also earn revenue by providing technical assistance to other airlines.
High standards of maintenance must be ensured keeping in view the international regulations, Original Engine Manufacturers'(OEM) guidelines and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)/ Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) standard, he urged.
Sardar Mehtab emphasised that flight safety was the paramount responsibility of engineering department and no laxity would be tolerated. "PIA's engineering department must focus on building the capacity of its personnel by providing them better training in all fields," he directed.
The PM's advisor further directed that PIA should get EASA 145 certification on priority basis. He urged that all efforts should be made to minimise the number of SAFA findings during surprise checks at foreign airports. He also directed that the scrapped parts and other junk should be cleared from hangars and adjacent areas, as they occupy valuable space despite their uselessness.