ISLAMABAD – A specialised security training and certification would be imparted to airport regulators in Pakistan by a high-profile European time.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed that a European Civil Aviation team would arrive in Pakistan next week to provide the training.
Interestingly, this is the first time that the Pakistani airport personnel would be getting the training; the two-member team is being sent by the European Union and specific staff members at at Islamabad International Airport would be getting the training.
As far as the details are concerned, it has been shared that the training will focus on meeting international standards in terms of Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) and Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD).
The development comes as Pakistan affirms to align its aviation security protocols with globally recognised standards for improving passengers safety.
It bears mentioning that Pakistan’s national airline faced over 4 years of ban from operating flights in the European Union. Recently, the ban was lifted and Pakistan managed to resume direct flights to Paris, France. At present, two weekly flights are operated from Islamabad to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport each Friday and Sunday.
The Pakistani authorities also expected the United Kingdom (UK) to approve resumption of flights; however, there seems to be a delay in resumption of flights to the UK. The ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was placed after it was reported that Pakistani pilots were operating flights with fake licences. Investigations revealed that the scandal regarding the fake licenses was blown out of proportion; however, the European authorities enforced a ban on the national carrier which resulted in loss of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, the government is also trying to privatize Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and an effort in this regard proved futile a few months ago. The government believes that with the resumption of direct flights to Europe and the UK, it can privatize the airline at a better price.
