KARACHI – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which posted a Rs2 billion profit way back in 2004, has seen its losses soaring around Rs103 billion during the incumbent PML-N stint.
This was revealed as PAC Chairman Syed Khurshid Shah chaired the meeting on Tuesday to discuss the performance of PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). PIA’s CFO Nayyar Hayat along with other representatives briefed the members of the committee.
Shah and other attendees expressed their concerns when they were told that the national flag carrier has been incurring losses since 2005 due to flawed managerial decisions.
The year-on-year loss figures given to the PAC stated that: in 2005, the losses were Rs4.4 billion that kept increasing over the years. And in 2013 – the first year of the PML-N government the losses surged to Rs44.71 billion; Rs29.31 billion in 2014, while in 2015, it incurred a loss of Rs29.95 billion.
Responding to a question of MNA Sardar Ashiq Hussain, CFO Hayat stated that PIA had a fleet of 46 aircraft in 2005. That number came down to 27, he said, adding today the airline has 39 aircraft.
CAA Secretary Sqn Ldr (retd) Muhammad Irfan Elahi told the PAC that a new airline Serene Air has been granted a license to begin operations along domestic routes by the end of 2016, Express Tribune reported.
PIA’s Chairman Muhammad Azam Saigol skipped the meeting owing to his appearance before the Lahore High Court however, the committee agreed to probe into the excuse.
