A total of 50 staff members, including three pilots, were sacked by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for holding fake high school degrees, a report said.

At least six additional pilots had been fired recently on the same grounds, said a report in Arab News.

The airline has cancelled the pilots’ licenses, the report said citing PIA’s spokesman Mashood Tajwar.

The airline has been plagued by myriad controversies in recent years and saddled by billions of dollars in debt, it said.