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KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will face shortage of pilots if it did not make necessary recruitment, claimed Pakistan Air Line Pilots' Association (PALPA).

'Presently the pilots are working extra hours to meet the shortage,' said President PALPA, Capt NA Bucha here Wednesday at a seminar on 'Flight duty time limitation/fatigue' organised by the Association. He said a large number of pilots are also going to retire in a year or two while ratio of their replacements is very slow.

Capt Bucha said that presently they are extending all cooperation to PIA particularly during on-going Haj operation. He said that PALPA had entered into an agreement with PIA in 1995 which allowed 10 days off every month.

But this agreement was no more in effect and presently they were being offered two to three days leave. 'Restlessness could affect the health and efficiency of pilots,' he said and added that presently 525 pilots were serving in PIA.

Capt Bucha pointed out that globally it is understood that pilots have licenses which remain valid for 6 months and renewal or validation of the license depends entirely on meeting physical and technical methods. He said that PALPA was equally concerned about the aviation safety and security for both passengers and pilots.

In his presentation, Capt Saleem Akhtar of PALPA said that stress level of pilots was high as compared to other professions. Referring to a study conducted by University of Manchester, Institute of Science & Technology on stress level in various professions, he said it was found that pilots have a stress level of 7.5 on a scale of 0-10, which makes it the third most stressful profession on the list.

The Deputy President, IFALPA (International Pilots Association), Capt Carlos Limon spoke on Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR). He said the manufacturers, regulatory bodies and the operators look towards pilots for feedback to improve aircraft design and flight procedures.

A consultant to IFALPA, Captain Rick Brennan said that fatigue could be a contributory factor in aircraft accidents. About Flight Time Limitations (FTL), he said that in many parts of the world, the airline managements do not offer, either flight crews or their passengers, the protection that they deserve.