ISLAMABAD – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) grappled with yet another setback as its fuel supply crisis extended into its second week on Tuesday, leading to further cancelations.
The national carrier was forced to cancel as many as 50 flights, a development coinciding with the government’s plans to privatize the carrier; the canceled flights encompass 27 international and 23 domestic routes.
Though PIA asserted it made an advance payment of Rs220 million ($789,804) to PSO for fuel supply over the weekend, 70 flights were canceled on Sunday.
Last week, PIA experienced a series of flight cancellations and delays after the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) halted fuel supply to the airline over unpaid dues. A PIA spokesperson had then clarified that the fuel supply was restored and the operations were returning to normalcy.
However, the spokesperson said that PSO was not cooperating and the airline was trying to keep international flight operations intact.
The caretaker government’s denial of the airline’s request for Rs23 billion ($76 million) in operational support prompted Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to initiate a restructuring plan aimed at stabilizing the national carrier’s finances.
PIA has been handling financial challenges for quite a long period of time now. The national carrier requires approximately Rs100 million daily for fuel, and the suspension of supply from PSO has severely impacted flight operations.
The caretaker government’s decision to privatize PIA, coupled with the withdrawal of interim financial support, has intensified the airline’s challenges. The carrier has also grounded some planes in the wake of financial hardships.
Due to the same economic viability challenges, there have been demands for privatizing the national carrier. 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.
