In 1954, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was formed to serve as a service-oriented industry dedicated to giving affordable travel to its revenue paying passengers by a team of dedicated professionals. Although, successive regimes have been abusing PIA, treating it as a ‘spoils of war’ and not a national asset owned and funded by taxpayers.
PIA is once again in hot water after Malaysian authorities on January 16 seized an airplane Boeing-777 at the Kuala Lumpur Airport on the orders of a local Malaysian court over the non-payment of aircraft lease dues.
This is the second such avoidable incident related to the aviation sector within a year after almost a third of its pilots were suspected of holding fake or dubious licenses and dodging exams following inquiries into their qualifications.
The recent license scandal surfaced in the wake of a PIA plane crash near Karachi airport that killed 97 people on board. The crash prompted a preliminary report, which found that the pilots had failed to pursue standard procedures and disregarded alarms.
This is exactly the sort of negligence that occurs when a state-run institution hires incompetent people for corrupt practices with political interference. It has numerous mistakes and it will lead to a great tragedy for the PIA at national and international levels.
Blame game
Soon after the issue, PIA spokesperson issued a statement saying PIA flight number PK895 had reached Kuala Lumpur from Karachi today after which the Malaysian authorities seized the aircraft.
It further said the aircraft had been held back on the orders of a local court in Malaysia which, it argued, had taken a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between the PIA and another party pending in a UK court.
Federal Aviation Minister had asserted that the officials of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will appear before London and Malaysian courts over the matter of lease payment issue.
He also admitted that PIA failed to pay the lease of the aircraft that was held in Kuala Lumpur on time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Malaysian court issued an order without listening to any arguments by the airline.
Blaming on previous government, the minister said PIA had acquired the plane on an expensive lease during the PML-N tenure, calming the government belief in taking practical steps for the welfare of the common man and the matter would be resolved soon.
Inside story of the issue
As against PIA’s statement, reports suggested that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has expressed its anger with the PIA, claiming that the national flag carrier seemed to be unacquainted with international civil aviation leasing laws.
The authorities also questioned and said when the PIA knew that Boeing-777 was involved in a court case, why did it permit the aircraft to fly abroad? The CAA has said that with the ongoing situation, the PIA will now have to clear all the dues at once to get the aircraft back.
PIA pays $7mn for aircraft impounded
On Friday, PIA informed the London High Court that it has paid $7 million to aviation company Peregrine Aviation Charlie Ltd in the case pertaining to two jets leased by the Dublin-based AerCap.
The lawyers for both the PIA and the airline agency sought an adjournment, hoping to reach a settlement without the court issuing an order against PIA. The airline’s lawyer Erin Hitchens requested the judge to adjourn the hearing as the parties settle issues of the lease, rent, interest, lease, and the allocation of payment.
Needs bold decisions to restore PIA’s lost glory
No doubt, political interference, lack of professional leadership behind PIA’s chronic losses. To improve the airline’s performance, several steps, essentially among those were the appointment of CEOs and MDs on merit and putting an end to unnecessary interference from government as well as in political levels.
The entity needs bold decisions to re-establish administrative and financial disciplines within the top managing level and a policy of zero tolerance for any conflict of interest. It is necessary to hold a zero-tolerance policy for staff with fake degrees or those with criminal records or any administrative and financial indiscipline.
Precedence in employment should be for those holding singular Pakistani nationality so that redundancy is addressed and those involved in misconduct or irregularities can be held accountable, not seek refuge in another country.
The way the governments have destroyed PIA and our tax money, they should be held accountable for it. It is also imperative to restrain such incidents from fake laciness to illegal appointments; a national commission of inquiry should be formed to probe the issues.
