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Technical difficulties have severely hampered the operation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as the country’s national career fleet, which originally had 33 planes, is only operating 16 available aircrafts for domestic and international flights.
The deterioration of working conditions at the national airline is due to neglect and mismanagement, especially in the engineering department, The Express Tribune claimed in a report on Saturday.
Only 16 of the original 33 aircraft are ready to fly, while 17 are grounded due to technical issues such as lack of spare parts and late engine inspections. This includes PIA’s long-standing large fleet of Boeing 777s – three of the airline’s nine existing aircraft are on lease.
Of the 16 Airbus A320s, only 10 are currently operational and only one smaller ATR aircraft is in operation. These ATR flights cover PIA’s short-haul routes, such as those to the northern region and parts of Balochistan.
Reports say PIA does not have the resources to repair the grounded aircraft or get the necessary spare parts, exacerbating the problem.
Parliamentary Communications Secretary Gul Asghar Khan told reporters on Wednesday that the final auction of state-owned airline will take place on October 30, 2008.
