Cut by half, Pakistan International Airlines plunges further into crisis

Islamabad: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national flag carrier of the country, is facing a serious operational and financial crisis with only half of its 33-aircraft fleet available for domestic and international flight services due to technical issues.

As per sources, only 16 PIA aircraft are currently flight-ready while 17 planes are grounded due to lack of spare parts, engine checks, and other reasons.

This includes a substantial number of Boeing 777s. As per reports, just five of the 12 Boeing 777s in the PIA fleet are operational right now.

Also, only 10 of PIA’s 16 Airbus A320s are in service along with one ATR.

The condition of PIA has turned from bad to worse due to negligence of the national flag carrier’s management. The airline lacks the resources to repair inactive aircraft or procure spare parts, thus further intensifying and worsening the already-critical situation.

PIA is facing a severe financial and operational crisis at a time when the government is on the verge of conducting a final auction of the state-owned PIA Corporation on October 30.

Sources say that the PIA management has turned more negligent as the auction date nears.

The decision to privatise PIA was taken by the Shehbaz Sharif government in February 2024. The process will be completed next week.

"The process is a lengthy drill conducted under the elaborate structure of privatization," said Gul Asghar Khan, the Parliamentary Secretary of Communication.

"The process involves different institutions including the Privatization Commission Board chaired by the Minister and the Secretary Privatization Commission. The PIA’s privatization decision was approved by the Cabinet Committee on privatization. The PIA assets have been parked separately as its operational assets have been separated whereas the final auction will be held under PIA Corporation on 30th October," he added.