Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) (Urdu: مقتدرہ شہری ہوابازی پاکستان), an autonomous agency under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation and a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization, oversaw and regulated all aspects of civil aviation in Pakistan. Its head office situated at Terminal-1 of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. The authority was bifurcated to form the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation and Pakistan Airports Authority in 2023.

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Agency overview
مقتدرہ شہری ہوابازی پاکستان


Formed	7 December 1982; 43 years ago (1982-12-07)
Preceding agency	Civil Aviation Department (dissolved December 1982 (1982-12))
Jurisdiction	Pakistan
Headquarters	Jinnah International Airport Karachi-75200 24°53′55″N 67°09′08″E / 24.898636°N 67.152087°E / 24.898636; 67.152087
Annual budget	47,584 billion Pakistani rupees (Annual Report 2014)
Minister responsible	Khawaja Asif, Federal Minister of Aviation
Agency executive	Ahsan Ali Mangi, PAS, Secretary Aviation
Parent agency	Government of Pakistan
Website	https://pcaa.gov.pk/

Organizational structure

Civil Aviation Authority had the following divisions:

Regulatory Division
Airports & Operations Division
Support Division

Functions

PCAA served as the aviation regulator and at the same time the service provider functions of air navigation services and airport services. The core functions of PCAA being 'Regulatory', 'Air Navigation Services' and 'Airport Services'.

Air traffic

Pakistan's airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs).

Karachi Flight Information Region
Lahore Flight Information Region

Training

Civil Aviation Training Institute (CATI), Hyderabad worked under the Civil Aviation Authority. CATI is accredited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and is member of ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Programme. The institute was established in 1982 to fulfill training requirement of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and that of the fellow countries of the region.

The Civil Aviation Training Institute provides training in the disciplines of:

Air Traffic Services
Electronics Engineering
Communication Operations
Aviation Management & Administration
Rescue and Fire Fighting Services
Electromechanical Engineering

Aircraft Accident Investigation Board

Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB), working under the Aviation Division Government of Pakistan is responsible for investigating civilian aircraft accidents and serious incidents. In this role, the AAIB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents. The investigation board is based in Rawalpindi near the now defunct Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIAP). It has one regional office located in Karachi near Jinnah International Airport (JIAP).

Air crash investigations

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board held following the air crash investigations on direction of the federal Government of Pakistan.

PIA Flight 688 on 10 July 2006
Airblue Flight 202 on 28 July 2010
JS Air Flight 201 on 5 November 2010
Bhoja Air Flight 213 on 20 April 2012
PIA Flight 661 on 7 December 2016
PIA Flight 8303 on 22 May 2020

Controversial

Fake license scandal

Ghulam Sarwar Khan addressed Pakistan's National Assembly stating 262 pilots in the country "did not take the exam themselves" and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf, according to CNN, and added "they don't have flying experience". This accounts for 30% of Pakistani civilian pilots not capable of flying commercial aircraft. The investigation was the preliminary report into the PIA 8303 plane crash that killed 97 people in the southern city of Karachi on 22 May.

On 30 June, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) revoked PIA's 'third part authorisation', subsequently banning PIA from flying in European airspace for 6 months from the following day, following multiple safety failings.