—— Number of aircrafts reduced to 16 from 23
—— Boeing, Airbus suspend spare parts supplies to airline
—— PIA planes stopped at Gulf airports over fuel non-payment
—— FBR unfreezes PIA bank accounts
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) is on the verge of collapse as a top official of the national flag carrier has warned that flight operations are feared to be suspended by September 15 if emergency funds are not provided, claims Airline Director.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, a senior director of the national flag carrier said the number of operational planes had been reduced to 16 from 23 which led to the cancellation of several flights.
The official said aircraft manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — have also suspended spare parts supplies to the PIA over non-payment and the national airline was incurring losses worth millions of rupees daily due to limited flight operations.
The official also revealed that a PIA plane was stopped at Dammam airport while another four at Dubai airport over failure to pay for fuel.
The planes were allowed to leave on written assurance of the PIA, the official said, adding that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) restored PIA services after an emergency payment of $3.5 million was made.
The official warned that flight operations may be suspended by September 15 if Rs23 billion were not provided in emergency funds.
Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson said in a statement that all-out efforts were being made to save the flight operations from suspension.
A day earlier, sources told the PIA flight operations were severely affected due to a shortage of funds with a number of domestic and international flights being cancelled. The insiders said the national flag carrier had requested the government for immediate provision of funds. Moreover, the sources said the PIA employees had also not been paid their salaries as well.
On September 7, the PIA had said it grounded five out of its 13 leased aircraft with further prospect of grounding four additional planes due to the prevailing financial crunch.
The PIA had asked for an emergency bailout of Rs22.9 billion which was rejected by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
The ECC also rejected the request for deferment of the payments of Rs1.3 billion per month, which PIA pays to FBR against FED and Rs0.7 billion per month which PIA pays to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) against embarking charges.
The airline had also warned that Boeing and Airbus might suspend the supply of spare parts by mid-September.
Last month, the FBR froze 13 PIA bank accounts due to non-payment of Rs8 billion in FED.
On the other hand, The bank accounts of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were unblocked after matters between the national flag carrier and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) over non-payment of dues were settled, said sources on Wednesday.
The bank accounts were unblocked after the national flag carrier assured the tax collection body of clearing all pending dues and submitted written assurance.
According to FBR spokesperson, PIA will pay Rs2.5bn this month as per the agreement.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) blocked bank accounts of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) over non-payment of due taxes worth more than Rs 8 billion.
The FBR said the PIA had promised to pay Rs2 billion in dues under Federal Excise Duty in August, but it failed to keep its promise.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is grappling with a severe financial crisis, raising concerns about its ability to sustain air operations amidst mounting debts.
Yesterday, scores of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights were cancelled due shortage of funds. Sources privy to the development told that several domestic flights to and from Karachi were cancelled as the national flag carrier failed to pay Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for fuel supply.
