ISLAMABAD:
After a three-month suspension of services due to a phony pilot controversy, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is expected to restart flights to Britain, according to Federal Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique on Friday.
This week’s new legislation allowed the national carrier to finally fly to the United Kingdom, the federal minister informed the National Assembly.
He did not elaborate on the law or its necessity for the flights to resume.
He clarified that the return of services to the United Kingdom was not extended to other European countries.
The PIA hopes to resume flights to the United Kingdom in three months, with services to Europe and the Americas following suit.
After a false pilot license scandal, the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) canceled PIA’s authorization to fly to the union in 2020, forcing the airline to cancel all flights to Europe and the United Kingdom.
A total of 141 of PIA’s 434 pilots were affected, bringing the total number of grounded pilots throughout Pakistan to 262.
Abdullah H. Khan, a spokesman for PIA, said the airline was eager to resume service to the United Kingdom.
Approximately 37% of our sales comes from the UK and Europe, he explained.
Rafique claimed that the fraudulent license problem had cost the national airline money.
He claimed it would have to be reorganized and that billions of dollars would have to be invested to prevent its closure.
The minister also emphasized the importance of reorganizing the PIA to deal with its massive deficit, which has already reached Rs80 billion this year and is expected to rise to Rs259 billion by 2030 if nothing is done.
He assured the workforce that nobody would lose their job and that everyone would continue to enjoy the same benefits and protections.
Rafique informed the house that the PIA’s entire liability was Rs742 billion and that only 27 or 28 planes were in operating at the time.
He stressed the critical nature of the restructuring law, which had been passed by the National Assembly at its previous meeting, in saving the institution.
Rafique warned that the deficit would continue to grow unless drastic action was taken soon.
Transportation hub in Islamabad
The aviation minister also revealed that the government intended to outsource airport operations, first at Islamabad Airport, then at Karachi Airport, and finally at Lahore Airport.
“The Islamabad airport will be outsourced for a period of 15 years to improve its operational activities,” the minister stated in response to a calling attention notice from Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal legislator Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali.
The minister argued that this action was not the same as privatization. He emphasized that the outsourcing process will not involve the runway or navigation operations. Instead, it seeks to improve airport operations by recruiting qualified operators.
Rafique stressed that the best bidder would be awarded the contract to run the airport, thanks to open competitive bidding.
He assured the audience that the process would be revenue-generating.
Consultant services would be provided by the private sector component of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation.
The minister promised transparency and compliance with all laws and regulations, and said that 12–13 firms had already expressed interest in taking part in the bidding process.
Rafique noted that, like airports in India and Turkey, Madina Airport had benefited from outsourcing in order to provide better service.
