KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s national flag carrier, is teetering on the brink of collapse, and an urgent plea for emergency funds is echoing through its corridors. A high-ranking PIA official has issued a dire warning that unless immediate financial support is extended, flight operations may abruptly halt by September 15.
According to a senior director at PIA, the number of operational aircraft has dwindled drastically from 23 to 16, resulting in a cascade of flight cancellations that have left passengers stranded. This sharp reduction in the fleet has disrupted travel schedules and plunged the airline into a financial abyss.
Adding to the airline’s woes, leading aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus have ceased the supply of vital spare parts to PIA due to non-payment. Consequently, the national airline is hemorrhaging millions of rupees daily as its flight operations remain severely limited.
The dire situation was distressing when one PIA plane was detained at Dammam airport, and another four were grounded at Dubai airport due to unpaid fuel bills. The standoff was resolved only after PIA provided written assurances and made an emergency payment of $3.5 million, prompting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to reinstate PIA services.
However, the PIA official cautioned that unless Rs23 billion in emergency funds materialize by September 15, the airline faces an imminent suspension of flight operations.
In response to the impending crisis, a PIA spokesperson affirmed that every conceivable effort is being made to stave off the looming suspension of flight operations. Meanwhile, the airline’s employees bear the brunt of the financial turmoil, as their salaries remain unpaid amid the mounting crisis.
This latest chapter in PIA’s financial woes comes on the heels of a string of setbacks. On September 7, PIA confirmed the grounding of five of its 13 leased aircraft, with the potential grounding of an additional four planes looming large due to the prevailing financial crunch. The airline had implored the government for an emergency bailout of Rs22.9 billion, a request the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) rejected.
Additionally, the ECC turned down requests for the postponement of monthly payments amounting to Rs1.3 billion to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for Federal Excise Duty (FED) and Rs0.7 billion to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for embarking charges.
Furthermore, PIA warned that Boeing and Airbus could suspend the spare parts supply by mid-September, further intensifying the crisis. Last month, the FBR took the drastic step of freezing 13 PIA bank accounts due to non-payment of Rs8 billion in FED, casting a shadow over the airline’s financial future.
