Impounded PIA aircraft

An ongoing legal dispute between PIA and a company that leased the national carrier two Boeing 777s in 2015, pending in a UK court, has resulted in one of those aircraft being impounded in Malaysia. The government’s attempt to steady PIA from capsizing is a difficult task, one made almost impossible with the consistent issues that continue to damage the national flag carrier.

Meanwhile, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced that the national carrier’s lawyers will appear in the UK court on Jan 22 and in Kuala Lumpur court on Jan 24 to address the issue.

PIA’s failure to pay the leasing fee amounting to $14 million for both aircraft is perhaps understandable due to how hard the aviation industry has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that does not explain why the aircraft were being sent on international flights despite there being a clear risk of them being seized.

This is exactly the sort of negligence that occurs when a state-run institution hires incompetent people. This is the second such avoidable incident related to the aviation sector within a year that has caused considerable international embarrassment.

The first one being Aviation Minister declaring on the National Assembly floor that 262 pilots in Pakistan held fake licenses. Not only was the accusation blown out of proportion but was handled so recklessly, that competent career pilots with up to date and authentic legal paperwork were grounded.

PIA defaulting on its lease payments means that other aircraft lessors will be less inclined to work with it due to its high credit risk. This will surely do some damage to revenue numbers that are already struggling. Fighting this case effectively will help stave off any others that might be considering legal action.

After the government gathered all the facts pertaining to the case, it must get its best diplomatic and legal minds to resolve this crisis before we have another hefty payout to make from the national exchequer. The process to restructure the airline is ongoing, but it will not progress forward with issues such as this continuously being raised.