ISLAMABAD – The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has imposed hefty fines on multiple airlines in the country including the national carrier.
The regulatory body imposed a fine worth Rs5.2 million on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for late delivery of passengers’ luggage.
Besides the national carrier, other private airlines also faced fines to the tune of Rs6 million; the fines pertained to 13 flights for late delivery of passengers’ luggage at Karachi International Airport.
In recent months, different airlines have been fined for late delivery of luggage which causes hassle to the passengers.
Media reports say that most of the cases of late delivery of passengers’ luggage took place at Islamabad Airport and as many as 517 flights were fined at Islamabad Airport over the past six months, 24 News reported.
Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore was also amongst the ones where late delivery of luggage was reported and as many as 473 flights were issued warnings for late delivery due to the lack of loaders.
The regulatory authority, i.e. Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has set a time limit of 45 minutes for offloading passengers’ luggage while a time limit of 50 minutes has been set for offloading passengers’ luggage from a Boeing aircraft.
There are multiple reasons for late delivery of luggage but majorly the Hajj flights are the major chunk of flights wherein the luggage is delivered late.
It bears mentioning that the previous government had finalized the outsourcing of three international airports located in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. For the Islamabad Airport, the modalities had been finalized according to which the facility would be outsourced for 15 years.
Although complete details about the outsourcing are yet to be released, it is being reported that administrative and financial affairs, design, and construction of Islamabad International Airport will be handled by a third party.
Moreover, the matters pertaining to service charges, exchange rates, and shop rent will also be handled by the third party; however, matters related to security, customs, and immigration services at the airport will remain under the control of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
As per the initial reports, the third party will also be permitted to establish shopping malls and branded shops at the airport.
It bears mentioning that the former Aviation Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique had announced that the airport would be outsourced for 15 years but added that the navigational services and runway operations will not be outsourced and Civil Aviation Authority will continue to do it.
Rafique explained that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank offshoot, is the government’s consultant on outsourcing and around a dozen companies have shown interest.
