ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Thursday said that a process of advertisement for director general (DG) of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should be adopted instead of getting it approved from the cabinet.
The Senate Standing Committee on Aviation meeting which was held here with Senator Hidayatullah in the chair was briefed on various issues being faced by the aviation sector of the country.
Regarding the closure of a booking office of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Hyderabad, the committee was informed that the office was shut down as a result of a cost-cutting move.
The PIA officials said that the airlines management is working towards establishing a smart office in Hyderabad to facilitate the people of the city and surrounding areas, which would be made operational within a month.
Reviewing the issue of bird collision during takeoff and landing, the committee was of the view that international best practices must be adopted in this regard.
The committee was informed that a forum to deal with the issue has been formulated that has on board base commanders from all over the country.
Discussing procurement of services on account of the development of indigenous in-flight entertainment (IFE) solutions resulting in a dubious financial deal, the committee was informed that in view of certain discrepancies with respect to the technical soundness of the lowest bidder, i.e., M/s Avionic Solution, the whole tendering process has been rolled back.
Reviewing the reasons for delayed international PIA flights, it was informed that in the last two months 60 percent delay in international flights has been observed.
Besides, there have been issues related to immigration during which passengers have been offloaded from flights.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been taken onboard in this regard and has agreed to come up with a policy to mitigate the issues at the earliest.
The committee also summoned the FIA officials in the next meeting to discuss the issue in detail.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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