RIYADH, 17 February 2003 — Saudi Arabian Airlines has successfully contested the revoking of the licenses of four Saudi pilots by US authorities on the grounds they posed a security threat, a Saudia official said yesterday.
“Lawyers for Saudia have appealed to (US) authorities concerned to return the revoked licenses,” the official said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The licenses of co-pilots Nabil Mohammed Adawi and Khaled Fahd Al-Olayan were returned on Jan. 22, the spokesman said.
The status of the licenses of pilots Moen Hassan Zarie and Tarek Hassan Al-Jifry has been reduced from revoked to suspended and lawyers have appealed to have the suspension lifted, the official added.
The statement said that the pilots working for Saudia were of a high standard and had a clean record.
The cases against the two pilots stem from the Transportation Security Administration’s being given new responsibility to conduct threat assessments for all pilots, mechanics and flight instructors authorized to work or fly in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Saturday quoted an informed source at Saudia as saying that the Presidency of Civil Aviation would start issuing licenses to Saudi pilots within one month.
The domestic licenses will allow all Saudi pilots to fly to all countries, including the United States. A number of Arab airlines were already doing the same, he said.
The 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the TSA, authorizes the government to bar anyone found to be a threat while working in the industry without providing evidence, according to the Journal.
The Saudis’ “airman’s certificates” were revoked last month without public notice, the paper said.
