HANOI: Vietnam’s aviation authority said on Monday it had grounded all Pakistani pilots working for local airlines, amid concern from global regulators that some pilots may have been using “dubious” licenses.
Pakistan said last week it will ground 262 airline pilots whose credentials may have been falsified, after global airlines body IATA said that irregularities found in pilot licenses at Pakistan International Airlines represent a “serious lapse” in safety controls.
“The head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has ordered a suspension for all Pakistani pilots working for Vietnamese airlines,” the CAAV said in a statement on Monday.
The suspension will be in effect until further notice from CAAV, it said, adding that the authority is coordinating with Pakistani authorities to review the pilots’ profiles.
Vietnam had licensed 27 Pakistani pilots, and 12 of them were still active, while the other 15 pilots’ contracts had expired or were inactive due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CAAV.
Of the 12 active pilots, 11 were working for budget airlines Vietjet Aviation and one for Jetstar Pacific, a unit of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.
Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways were not using any pilots from Pakistan, the CAAV said.
Vietnamese airlines currently have 1,260 pilots, with nearly half of them holding foreign citizenship, according to the CAAV.
Vietnam grounds Pakistani pilots over license concerns
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Vietnam grounds Pakistani pilots over license concerns
- Vietnam had licensed 27 Pakistani pilots, and 12 of them were still active
- Pakistan said last week it will ground 262 airline pilots whose credentials may have been falsified
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
