Kuwait has revoked the licence of a Kuwait Airways pilot who had invited a porn star and her “glamorous” friend into the cockpit.
The decision announced by Transportation Minister Eisa Al Kindari in a report to the parliament was taken following an investigation he ordered in July when news about the unprecedented security breach and ethical violation broke out.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Kuwaiti daily Al Jareeda, said that the co-captain was demoted over his role in the case that shook Kuwaitis to the core. The plane crew was not aware of what was happening inside the cockpit and no punitive action was taken against any member, Al Jareeda said on Saturday. [Source]
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised by this. I thought for sure this incident was going to be swept under the carpet. Not bad Kuwait Airways, I’m impressed.
Thanks @mentabolism
24 replies on “Kuwait Airways pilot loses licence for inviting porn star into cockpit”
not so fast….ex-KAC Captain will probably run for Parliment, and win
not surprised at all
Things seems to be getting better for the country recently. Kuwait Airways has begun its revamp (finally), Jaber Stadium is going to open in a few days (Finally! Even though Kuwaiti football is banned, but hopefully will be lifted soon). Jaber AlAhmed Hospital is near completion, the Opera house is developing nicely, and tons of other projects are finally under way, and that is excellent. So it’s excellent to see this matter has been taken care of, and hopefully any other negative incidents that arise, will also be taken care of.
Nasser I completely agree with you and love seeing some positivity, I flew one of the new planes last week and was shocked at how amazing the service was, actual Kuwaiti flight attendants working together and all in all a great experience!
The only thing we should hope for is a step further, once those amazing projects are done, for them to actually be used to promote tourism and have big international events and put them to good use, not just have some new shiny buildings that are gathering dust!
Definitely, I agree. Once all these new projects are completed, hopefully they will host international events that invite people from all around. Since a new airport is also going to be built, that should make it easier and more attractive for people to visit Kuwait.
Yeah, Kuwait seems to move on the right track, at least from the construction point of view. But don`t forget that people are not gonna come and visit a country just because it has a stadium or a new highway. Most of this projects should have been built long back, but they were forgotten or ignored for years.
Most important, if you wanna get tourists, is to change the way the local people regards tourists. Attitude towards the expatriates and the everyday news about the slavery might not be so tempting. Having the custom officer or the security and police smoking in the airport under the “No smoking” sign while shouting at poor people is one thing that will not attract tourists.
Change has to start with the people, not with the landscape.
we need more ballsy moves, the government should not be afraid to fire stupid people and hire smarter ones regardless of their backgrounds
does this mean he loses his mile high club membership too?
+1
This would have totally been swept under the table if not for all the publicity and news reports.
Good way to go Kuwait Airways!! Nice to know that it was taken seriously enough that his licence was revoked and not swept under the carpet.
Hopefully this wont be a for media only move where the guy continues to work on the ground for another 06 months and then through wasta is slowly rotated back within the flying ranks.
Also when they say Kuwait has revoked his licence, does this mean that he cant fly for Kuwait only or does it apply internationally? I ask because if its a Kuwait only thing then whats to stop him flying for some other airline and not repeating the same arrogant move again ?
I think it’ll apply to Kuwait only. But he’d have to convert whatever license he has to that required in the country. Some countries don’t recognize licenses other than their own so back to square one for you. It’s even worse for aircraft maintennance engineers.
Some might argue that inviting Elissa to the cockpit wasn’t any different.
and it’s all natural
It was worth it!
Good job Kuwait 👍🏻
I took Kuwait Airways recently on a new plane and was actually really impressed. This is coming from someone that avoided them for years
The suspension is probably only for a year unless specifically requested. This is as per KCARS, which you can find online here:
https://www.dgca.gov.kw/en/safety-systems/aviation-dept-and-systems/aviation-safety-department/kcasr
The relevant section:
“1.2.11 Surrender, Suspension or Revocation of License, Certificate or Authority
…
3) Unless the order of revocation provides otherwise, a person whose License/ authority /certificate is revoked, may not apply for any License, certificate or authority before the elapse of one year from the date of revocation.”
However, just because the license is revoked in Kuwait, doesn’t mean the person cannot fly. They can apply in another jurisdiction and then go through their re-certification process.
However, this is a “normal” process in the airline (that is, suspension of licenses).
As it has been done in the aftermath of such a salacious event is why its getting a lot of PR.
What’s her name? For scientific research purpose.
Now its time to get rid of the inept, incompetent, uncultured people behind the passport counters.
Hi Murrka.. the saying “a snow ball’s chance in hell” of that happening comes to mind in response to your comment 🙂
Hmmm. Ok two things about that article:
1) Not sure about First Officer’s (co-pilot’s) demotion. (The article cited Aljareeda) I heard (nothing official) from the first two weeks of the investigation that he has been exonerated from the investigation since it was decided that he did not do anything that goes against KCA rules and regulations.
2) Quotation: “He said he lets sexy girls in the cockpit, even though he is not supposed to, because he ‘made the rules’. The pilot told the stewardess to get us a bottle of champagne, which me and my friend drank.” — I find it farfetched that he would ask the stewardess to get a bottle in a Kuwait Airways flight. Even if she did, wouldn’t she be part of the investigation?
The article also mentions, “The plane crew was not aware of what was happening inside the cockpit and no punitive action was taken against any member, Al Jareeda said on Saturday.”
So, I’d take that whole article with a small pinch of salt, really.
First of all she’s not a porn star she’s a play boy model, second I don’t think it was necessary for the pilot to lose his licences, personally I think there are other things more serious that should get headlines like a drunk pilot.
Raaaa manz know’s his shit