KARACHI - CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY FRUSTRATED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000068

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT - PARA 6)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2019
TAGS: EAIR ETRD PREL ECON PK
SUBJECT: KARACHI - CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY FRUSTRATED BY
TSA INACTION AND VISA ISSUES

REF: 08 KARACHI 344

KARACHI 00000068 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Classified by Consul General Stephen G. Fakan
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Deputy
Director General Sajid Habib told EconOff on February 13 that
Pakistan's airline industry wanted a response from the
Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to an industry
request to fly direct flights to the U.S. He invited U.S.
carriers to resume operations in Pakistan, as he claimed
British Airways and Lufthansa plan to do in the summer, and
expressed frustration with the difficulty in receiving U.S.
visas for airline employees. He also outlined the CAA's
future restructuring program. End summary.

Waiting for Direct Flights to the U.S.
--------------


2. (SBU) At a February 13 meeting at the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) in Karachi, Deputy Director General Sajid
Habib, an Air Vice Marshall, told EconOff that his agency
wanted to see approval of direct Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA) flights to the U.S. Currently PIA has to stop
in Manchester, England, before continuing on to the U.S. The
stop in Manchester costs the airline money and passengers
must undergo the inconvenience of a security prescreening
(reftel). Habib noted that the Transportation Safety
Administration (TSA) visited Pakistan in 2008 on the issue,
but the GOP had not heard anything further from them. He
claimed Pakistan has "followed TSA's request for security
enhancements" and would like further communication with the
agency.

Call for U.S. Carrier Return to Pakistan
--------------


3. (SBU) Habib said he would like to see the return of
American carriers to Pakistan, calling their presence
"crucial to prosperity." He claimed that "PIA can't handle
the (traffic) load alone." Habib relayed that British
Airlines and Lufthansa, who suspended flights to Pakistan
following the September 21, 2008, Islamabad Marriott bombing
may restart service to Pakistan in the summer. He explained
that Pakistan plans to provide restricted airport hotels for
aircrews as an enticement for international carriers to
return. Habib seemed upset by the emergence of Dubai as a
hub for flights to the Middle East and South Asia in lieu of
Karachi. According to him, Pakistan plans to talk to China
in April and Saudi Arabia in June about an Open Skies
Agreement.

U.S. Visa Process Hurting Airline Industry
--------------


4. (C) Habib lamented the slow visa processing for PIA
aircrew members. He said Pakistani carriers buy U.S.
aircraft and many pilots have to go to the U.S. once or twice
a year for training as required by international agreements.
According to Habib, some pilots wait a year for a visa. He
said some of PIA's pilots have had to obtain waivers for
overdue simulator training. Pakistan is scheduled for an
ICAO inspection in 2010, however, and Habib is concerned the
use of simulator waivers could bring criticism during their
evaluation. Habib also mentioned that the CAA had declined
an opportunity to buy radar and other equipment from a U.S.
company because officials needed to visit the manufacturing
facility and feared that they would not receive U.S. visas
for the trip.

Restructuring
--------------


5. (SBU) Manzar Jamal, CAA Director for Air Transportation,
said the CAA is planning to restructure using South Korea and
the 2006 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Report on India as models. According to Jamal, the CAA will
segment into three units - Regulatory, Air Navigation
Services, and Airport Services. He said the CAA should
complete its reorganization by February 2010.


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Comment
--------------


6. (C) Pakistan clearly covets direct flights to the U.S.
for both economic and prestige reasons. PIA Managing
Director Mohammad Aijaz Haroon acknowledged to EconOff in
December that Pakistan's refusal to share passenger lists for
flights not going to the U.S. was a major stumbling block in
obtaining direct routes to New York. At this point, TSA action
on the issue has been encompassed within the scope of other
DHS negotiations with the GOP. Pakistan and the EU signed a
civil aviation agreement February 24 allowing all
EU-based airlines to operate flights to Pakistan from any EU
state with which the GOP already has an agreement, but it is
unclear whether expansion of the legal authority to fly to
Pakistan will equate with actual willingness to do so by EU
airlines.


7. (C) Although the visa discussion focused on the U.S.,
Habib also noted that PIA pilots sometimes experience long
waits for EU visas. The waits are further lengthened when
visas for multiple countries are needed. Regardless of the
veracity of Habib's claims, should an aircraft piloted by
crewmembers with simulator waivers be involved in an incident
where passengers are either killed or injured, the visa issue
may well be trumpeted as a contributing factor.

FAKAN