PIA to acquire 8 planes next year

ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Aviation was Tuesday informed that eight aircraft would be added to the PIA fleet next year.

The committee met in the Committee Room of the Islamabad International Airport chaired by Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar.

Barrister Aqeel Malik asked if the national airline was purchasing new aircraft next month, will long-range aircraft also be purchased.

“How many employees of the national airline have fled abroad in the last three years and what steps have been taken to ensure that the airline employees do not seek refuge abroad?” he asked.

Responding, the airline CEO said eight new 777 aircraft would be added to the national airline’s fleet next year. He said the European Union ban had been lifted after four years.

“We have got Terminal 3 in Paris and if the national airline gets access to the Europe terminal, connecting flights will also be able to operate,” he told the committee.

The PIA chief executive officer further told the committee that the PIA’s on-time performance was 90 percent.

The committee was further told that the PIA will operate daily flights between Sukkur and Karachi.

The CEO said after the construction of motorways, use of domestic flights had decreased across the country, including Multan and Islamabad.

The committee was told that the first PIA flight will depart for Europe from January 10, while two flights to Europe will operate from January.

He told the committee that two weekly flights would be operated from Islamabad to Paris.

“The Air France’s agreement will also benefit the European passengers, while the SPS agreement will also facilitate travel to Paris as well as other European countries,” he told the committee.

The committee expressed displeasure over the poor quality of food served in the PIA flights.

Committee member Mehreen Bhutto said there would be a separate committee agenda on the food quality of the national airline, while member Sharif Khan said the behavior of the flight staff was very derogatory. To this, the CEO replied that the food quality had been improved.

The members of the committee also sought details on the number of employees of the national airline and also on promotion and posting.

Committee member Ramesh Lal said some employees of the national airline had not been promoted for 10 years and sought a complete briefing in this regard.

The members asked as to how many flights were there when an air marshal (retd) was the CEO of the national airline and how many were there now. A member asked how much damage the travel agents had caused to the national airline to date and sought details in this regard. Meanwhile, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the aviation ministry’s briefing on its strategic initiatives for airport development and current status of the ongoing airport projects across the country. After a thorough discussion, the committee constituted a sub-committee to assess the progress and performance and also ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the projects, The sub-committee will be headed by Dr Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto MNA, with Abdul Aleem Khan, Rana Iradat Sharif Khan and Ramesh Lal as members. The committee remains committed to addressing these critical issues to ensure transparency, accountability, and continued development of aviation infrastructure in Pakistan.

The committee expressed concern over persistent failure of the secretary/president of the Multan Flying Club to attend multiple invitations by the standing committee. Ramesh Lal asked what action should be taken if the DG of Flying Club Multan did not appear in the meeting Secretary aviation explained that flying clubs worked under the Ministry of Aviation and their performance needed to be improved. Mehreen Razaq Bhutto inquired why the audit of the flying club was conducted without regulations. She pointed out that services were not being provided to the students trained by the flying club. She said it was not possible to hand every matter over to the NAB and FIA. Taking up the sexual harassment allegation against a manager posted abroad, the committee was dissatisfied with the initial findings and recommended that a detailed fact-finding report be submitted prior to the next committee meeting for further review and action. Aqeel Malik, Rana Iradat Sharif Khan, Dr. Darshan, Chaudhry Iftikhar Nazir, Dr. Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto, Ramesh Lal, Abdul Aleem Khan, Saleem Rehman, Haji Imtiaz Ahmed Choudhry, Muhammad Saad Ullah and Usman Ali besides the secretary aviation and officials of the ministry and its attached departments attended the meeting.