APR 04, (DNA) – Advisor to PM on Aviation, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan has said that engineering is one of the most important departments of PIA and all efforts should be made to make it produce optimum results within given resources in the shortest possible time so that the efficiency and reliability of the national flag carrier can be improved.

He said this during his visit to the Engineering and Line Maintenance Department of PIA here last evening. Secretary Aviation and Acting Chairman PIA, Mr. M. Irfan Elahi also accompanied him.

Chief Technical Officer, Mr. Amir Ali gave a detailed briefing on the working of various components of Engineering department and the challenges being faced by them.

Expressing his views on the occasion, the Advisor said that capacity of PIA’s engineering department must be enhanced so that it can not only provide better service to airline’s own aircraft but also earn revenue by providing technical assistance to other airlines. High standards of maintenance must be ensured keeping in view the international regulations, Original Engine Manufacturers’ (OEM) guidelines and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)/ Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) standard, he added.

He emphasized that flight safety is the paramount responsibility of engineering department and no laxity will be tolerated.

Sardar Mehtab emphasized that PIA’s engineering department must focus on building the capacity of its personnel by providing them better training in all fields.

He directed that PIA should get EASA 145 certification on priority basis. Similarly, all efforts should be made to minimize the number of SAFA findings during surprise checks at foreign airports, he added.

He also directed that the scrapped parts and other junk should be cleared from hangars and adjacent areas, as they occupy valuable space without being of much use.