ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik apprised Prime Minister Imran Khan the national flag carrier was incurring a loss of around Rs 6 billion per month under the present circumstances.
The PIA CEO briefed the prime minister, who chaired a meeting on the reforms and restructuring of the national airline, that a sum of Rs24 billion was being spent annually on the payment of salaries to 14,500 employees.
The CEO also apprised the prime minister about the progress regarding the investigation into the Karachi plane crash, handing over of bodies to their bereaved families and payment of compensation amount to the heirs of plane crash victims.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz, Advisor on Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Lt Gen (retd) Asim Salim Bajwa and other senior officials.
During the meeting, a timeline for restructuring of the PIA and a comprehensive roadmap over reforms and implementation was also submitted before the prime minister.
Addressing the meeting, the prime minister said the economy was facing difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic and people had to bear the burden of billions of rupees loss suffered by the state-owned entities.
With regard to the current situation, he said it was imperative to expedite the restructuring and reforms process in the PIA. He stressed on reducing expenditures, focusing on increase in financial resources and upgradation of fleet.
He also directed that special attention should be paid so that the PIA-owned domestic and foreign assets, which could be utilised through a complete transparent and clear manner.
He observed that the assets should create financial resources for the organisation instead of becoming a burden on the general public.
PIA CEO said ten heads of the organisation had been changed during the last 12 years. He said he could not carry out his duties for a period of three months of his tenure due to legal cases due to which the reforms process has badly suffered.
He said due to the prevailing situation, the airlines industry throughout the world had been affected and reforms in that regard, were carried out in the organisation.
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