Will PIA Be Privatized Is Still A Question
Will PIA Be Privatized Is Still A Question: On 12th Of April the Supreme Court has stopped the government from proceeding with the privatization of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) without its permission. Chief Justice of Pakistan has asked the airline to submit terms and references to calculate the losses of PIA. “Who is responsible for the loss of Rs360 billion? We want to know the cause of the loss and viewpoint of PIA’s employees on the issue,” the chief justice said.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar ordered to place the names of PIA’s MD are who served from 2008 to 2018. The Government gave an impression as it was restructuring rather than privatizing but it got clear later that restructuring was a trick used to start privatization program. The government had initiated the process under PIAC Conversion Act 2016 which was adopted unanimously by the parliament, and it was supposed to complete the privatization process by April 15th.
Earlier, Federal Cabinet had approved privatization of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the name of restructuring due to the organization facing a continuous loss. The approval was granted during the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) weekly meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The decision was seriously criticized by the PPP leaders and other major political parties and a case was filed against government action of privatizing it under a rush and not mitigating the losses occurred with proper strategies.
Pakistan’s domestic air traffic has grown 10%, which is six 6% higher than the 4% expansion in international air traffic. PIA had 48 aircraft in its fleet which are 35 now with a ratio of 450 employees per aircraft.
Our air travel market will be welcoming Askari Air, Air Siyal, Go Green, Liberty Air and Afeef Zara Airways. As per sources, Air traffic of the country has swelled 40% over the past five years to 20 million passengers. These new private air companies will offer low fares and target far off destinations to boost profit.
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