Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday said the national flag carrier had added two more aircraft to its operations fleet during the last 24 hours.
“Despite the difficult economic conditions, the government is active for PIA’s progress, which is evident from the fact that the number of aircraft in its operational fleet continues to increase,” spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said in a press statement here.
He said a new Airbus-320 aircraft, which arrived in the last few days, had also been added to the schedule after completing all the details. “Yesterday, the new Airbus 320 took its first commercial flight as PK-309 from Islamabad to Karachi.”
Similarly, he said, a seven-month grounded Boeing-777 aircraft had also been added to the operational fleet after necessary overhauling. “The aircraft operated its first flight after several months this morning and departed for Jeddah as PK-300.”
The spokesman said this was the second Boeing- 777 that had rejoined the operational fleet in the past few months.
He said the third aircraft of this series was also in the final stages and would become operational in the next few weeks.
“With this process, a total of 25 aircraft, including 14 Airbuses and 10 Boeing-777 will be part of PIA’s schedule,” he said, adding it would help expand the operational network of the national flag carrier.
He said this was the highest number of active PIA aircraft since the Covid-19 pandemic, which was made possible due to the personal interest of Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique.
The spokesman said the aviation industry was on the way to full recovery and termed the increased number of aircraft in the PIA ‘inevitable’ to meet the growing demand of passengers.
