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Pilots face grounding over medical delays
Almost 1000 pilots are facing delays of two months or more to receive the medical certificates they need to fly because of a mammoth backlog within the aviation regulator’s new online medical portal.
About 170 pilots are also within 14 days of having their medical certificates expire — which will *effectively ground them and put them out of work — as the backlog continues to grow and slow down the processing system.
The logjam was created with the introduction of Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s online medical records system, which has been in operation since March 21. The new system was meant to streamline the application process and create a repository of pilot medical records for future use but teething problems with the system has instead created a slowdown that is now affecting hundreds of pilots.
The new system is processing about 1700 medical certificates a month, down from the 2000 a month that the old system was capable of issuing.
The delays mean there is now a backlog of about 900 pilots who are being told to expect waits of two months to receive their certificates. In about 400 cases, some are being told the wait is even longer.