PIA Resumes Europe Flights: Boost for Privatisation

Karachi/Islamabad, Dec 7 (PTI) The Pakistan International Airlines will resume its flights to Europe on January 10 with the first flight to Paris, it was announced on Saturday raising hopes for the government to attract higher bids for the privatisation of the debt-ridden national carrier.

The announcement comes after the European aviation watchdog last week lifted the ban -- imposed in 2020 due to safety concerns in the wake of an air crash in Karachi which left nearly 100 people dead -- on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Initially, there will be two flights per week, on Fridays and Saturdays, and the frequency will later increase as per the passenger load, the PIA said in a statement.

PIA officials also held a meeting with Director AGS Airports Glasgow, Christopher Tibbett, on Saturday to discuss the resumption of flights to the United Kingdom.

The PIA will resume flights to Europe on January 10 by flying a Boeing 777 to Paris and booking for it would open on a day before, the Airlines spokesperson Hafeez Khan said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Aviation minister Khawaja Asif said that the ban on the airlines to fly to European destinations was a major reason for the lack of interest by private parties in acquiring shares in the airlines.

Welcoming the European Commission and European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) decision to lift the suspension on PIA on November 30, Asif said the development will help secure a higher value for the debt-ridden national carrier.

The move to sell the PIA and other loss-making state-owned enterprises is part of the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that recently agreed to provide USD 7 billion to Pakistan.

The PIA had suffered losses of USD 270 million last year and has debt and liabilities close to USD 3 billion.

The government unsuccessfully tried to privatise 60 per cent of the shares in the debt ridden airlines earlier this year but could only attract a single bid of PKR 10 billion, much below the asking reserve price.

The privatisation commission rejected it and decided to hold fresh bidding.

PIA owns assets worth approximately Rs 152 billion, including aircraft and operational routes. But it has around 7,100 employees, with over 2,400 working on a daily wage basis, who had been a hindrance in its privatisation.

Apart from making losses and owing billions of rupees in debt, its fleet is aging. Several flights were cancelled and rescheduled this year because the airlines did not clear outstanding dues to the fuel company, Pakistan State Oil.