RIYADH – The national carrier of Pakistan is making headlines across the globe but for all the wrong reasons as the carrier is now being criticized by Saudi Arabia as well.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation has warned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other airlines about flight delays, directing them to improve their performance.
The authority issued warning letters to 26 airlines and said that if they do not improve their performance, their slots will be reduced.
The national carrier of Pakistan was also directed to ensure the timely arrival and departure of its flights or else face fines.
The development comes days after Pakistan’s own aviation authority ranked the carriers and placed the national carrier in fifth spot in terms of punctuality.
According to a report recently unveiled by the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ranked fifth in domestic flights in punctuality, reflecting the mismanagement of the national flag carrier’s leadership.
The departure ratio of domestic PIA flights was recorded at 58.24% – on-time departures and arrivals of PIA flights were probably the worst in the airline’s history – implying what’s wrong with the carrier currently battling to survive and failing to attract flyers.
As far as the toppers are concerned, the top 4 slots were taken by the private carriers as their on-time departure and arrival ratio was much better than that of the national flag carrier.
Private carrier Fly Jinnah grabbed the top slot with an 87.93% flight punctuality rate while Air Sial stood second with its flight punctuality rate recorded at 86.89%.
The third spot was taken by Airblue with a 78.36% flight punctuality rate while The fourth position was secured by Serene Airlines with a flight punctuality rate of 62.07%.
Interestingly, no Pakistani airline achieved a 100% on-time departure and arrival rate.
The deterioration of the national carrier was also reflected in the airline’s own report for 2023 according to which it suffered a loss of Rs60.71 billion in the first six months of the ongoing year. PIA – once seen as a model of success by competitors like Emirates – put up with a loss of Rs41.31 billion in the corresponding period last year.
There have been demands for privatizing the national carrier due to its economic nonviability. Former Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique also stressed the importance of privatizing the carrier or else it would have to shut operations.
In the final days of the PDM regime, it was also decided to privatize loss-making Pakistan International Airlines during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization chaired by then Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The committee “after deliberation decided to include Pakistan International Airlines Co. Ltd. in the list of active privatization projects of the ongoing privatization program, following an amendment in the law by the Parliament,” a finance ministry statement had said.
