Pakistan aviation industry, once reputed for its professionalism, has been under a dark patch for almost 15 years, with dangers of international censure haunting it. The lack of credible investigation into Air Blue and Bhoja fatal crashes should have been enough to warrant a shakeup of CAA and its management. Whatever the cause that led to PIA’s ATR skidding off the runway in light rain with no significant wind, the closure of Lahore’s main runway for over 30 hours exposes the total incompetence and lack of professional capacity of CAA, the body assigned to regulate air transport on behalf of ICAO in Pakistan. The ATR is a relatively small aircraft. Can somebody imagine how many weeks would CAA have taken in case God forbid this accident had involved a bigger aircraft like B777 or B747.
CAA charges a phenomenal fee as landing fee and passenger tax from airlines that land on airports run by it. In fact, CAA’s regulatory functions are compromised by the fact that it runs and owns all the major airports in Pakistan except Sialkot Airport. This conflict of interest has jeopardized its primary role of a regulator, since in any accident, or incident, involving commercial aircraft, either or both the airline operator or airport authorities who administer the operation of active runways and the navigational aids that aid in landing and in case of in-flight accidents the en route navigational aids and air traffic control, all vest with CAA.
There is no shortage of funds with CAA, which is one of the most profitable state owned enterprises. The unfortunate reality is that this very lucrative financial bonanza of CAA has become its biggest impediment, with both the powerful ministry of defense and successive governments eager to have their share of the pie. CAA today has become the dumping ground for retired officers and bureaucrats of the khaki establishment and ruling political party. The DG CAA is a crony of the most powerful political authority and a serving pilot of PIA, while the CFO of CAA is closely related to the Pakistan’s most powerful man sitting in Islamabad.
GULL ZAMAN
Peshawar