KARACHI – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday excluded ATR-72 airplanes from its fleet due to their non-profitable operation because of the expensive lease agreement that was made in 2015.
The ATR is notorious for its faulty engine and is known to cause trouble while flying.
Back in 2016, an ATR aircraft reportedly caught fire on the runway of Multan Airport before taking off. The PIA airplane PK-581 with 48 passengers on board was set to take off from Multan to Karachi when the fire erupted.
In another incident during the same year, a PIA pilot refused to fly an ATR plane to Mohenjo-Daro from Karachi, citing engine problems as the reason.
Faulty engine: PIA pilot refuses to fly ATR plane from Karachi to Mohenjo-Daro
“The lease agreement was the biggest hurdle in returning the aircraft, but on the directions of CEO Arshad Malik, the administration took advantage of a clause in the agreement in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to revoke the pact,” a PIA statement read.
Malik said the decision was hard but was inevitable. “Reforms are being introduced in the PIA and new planes would soon be added to the fleet of the national flag carrier.”
