Advisor to Prime Minister on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan (read defecto boss of PIA) has directed that PIA should get EASA 145 (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification on priority basis. The advisor who is visiting various Pakistan International Airlines departments after his appointment also stressed that PIA should make efforts to minimise the number of SAFA findings during surprise checks at foreign airports.
Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan has stressed the need for enhancing the capability of engineering department of Pakistan International Airlines during his visit to Engineering and Line Maintenance Department of the national airline in Karachi. It is important to mention that after the appointment of Bernd Hildenbrand the process of getting PIA EASA 145 approval was put on fast track and it was told that EASA 145 certification will be achieved by end of 2017.
On 10 October 2016 PIA appointed Helmut Bachhofner as Engineering Consultant. Bachhofner, who started his career as a technician and he is an EASA Part 66 (JAR 66) license holder, has vast experience in this field, having worked in Austrian airlines most of his career where he was responsible for quality improvement as well as commercial and maintenance.
He also worked with Qatar Airways/Amiri Flight for few years in management positions. During his last assignment, he was CEO of his own Aviation Engineering Consultancy firm which provided technical support to Austrian Airlines, Pratt & Whittney USA, JetAlliance Vienna and Air-Plus Comet Spain along with a host of other international clients.
He will be responsible for improving the efficiency and quality of PIA’s Engineering department. On October 30, 2017 PIA advertised to hire Technical Consultancy Services in the field of maintenance and repairs for a period of two years. This was supposed to be finalised by 30 November 2017. Nothing on this came out from PIA after this.