Foreign pilot hiring drains $2.25m monthly, AOOA warns

October 30, 2026 (MLN): The Aircraft Owners and Operators Association (AOOA) Pakistan has urged the government to reverse regulatory amendments allowing domestic airlines to employ foreign pilots for up to three years, citing unemployment among Pakistani aviators and pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

In a letter to the secretary of the Defence Ministry’s Aviation Division, AOOA Founder Imran Aslam Khan said around 1,500 Pakistani pilots were unemployed, while domestic airlines had hired more than 150 foreign pilots.

The association estimated that airlines were paying foreign pilots tax-free salaries of up to $15,000 per month, resulting in monthly foreign exchange outflows exceeding $2.25 million, equivalent to approximately Rs623.25m.

According to the association, previous regulations permitted foreign pilots to operate exclusively on wet-leased aircraft for an initial period of six months, with a single six-month extension.

However, a recent regulatory amendment extended the permissible employment period to three years without consultation with key domestic industry stakeholders.

AOOA warned that the revised rules could allow airlines to retain foreign pilots indefinitely by rotating crews, further limiting employment opportunities for qualified Pakistani aviators.

The association specifically named Airblue, Fly Jinnah and AirSial, alleging that the airlines were relying heavily on foreign pilots to avoid the initial training and aircraft type-rating costs associated with hiring young Pakistani aviators.

Imran Aslam Khan argued that training local pilots costs less than paying a foreign pilot's monthly salary, making investment in domestic aviation talent a more economical option over the longer term.

He said prioritizing foreign flight crews over qualified Pakistani pilots was undermining the country's aviation industry, restricting employment opportunities for young aviators and hindering the development of general aviation.

AOOA has called on the Aviation Division to review and reverse the amendments extending foreign crew employment to three years, strengthen oversight to prevent the rotation of foreign pilots and require domestic airlines to prioritize the recruitment and training of qualified Pakistani aviators.

The association also urged the government to take immediate measures to protect local employment and strengthen Pakistan's aviation sector.

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