On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed to the country’s Supreme Court that the licenses of 16 pilots and 65 crew members had been suspended when it was learned that their degrees had been faked.

The statement to the court was made during a hearing on the issue of verifying licenses and education qualifications of airline staff, including those of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the flagship carrier, Dawn.com reports.

"Degrees of 16 pilots and 65 cabin crew members were fake, and their licenses have been suspended," the Counsel for Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement to Daily Pakistan. Seven of the employees who were suspended were PIA pilots.

Details regarding how long the pilots and crew members were working with fake degrees were not provided.

"The impression is that action is being taken in haste over the court order," Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said during the hearing of one of the cases, also adding that the pilots and cabin crew members whose licenses were revoked have the right to appeal the decision.

"We do not want to halt anyone's source of income. The certificates on the basis of which the licenses of pilots and cabin crew members were suspended should be accurate," Nisar added, the Daily Pakistan reported.