Pakistan’s national carrier grounds 11 aircraft due to financial crisis

An official in the Pakis­tan International Airlines said the top management has grounded 11 aircrafts in the last three years as there was a financial crisis prevailing in the airline

Karachi: Pakistan‘s cash-strapped national carrier has grounded 11 aircraft, including three of its Boeing 777s, due to unavailability of funds to carry out replacement of parts.

An official in the Pakis­tan International Airlines (PIA) said the top management has grounded 11 aircrafts in the last three years as there was a financial crisis prevailing in the airline and the increase in dollar rates and petroleum products had not helped the situation.

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The official who didn’t want to disclose his name said that 11 out of 31 aircrafts operated by the PIA on international and domestic routes were grounded at the Karachi and Islamabad airports.

“The financial crisis has meant the airlines are not in a position to purchase spare parts since last year leading to the grounding of these aircrafts gradually,” he disclosed.

The previous government led by Shahbaz Sharif had appointed a new MD in PIA and unveiled its plans to privatise the national airlines, an announcement which has been met with fierce resistance from the various unions in the airlines.

Some of the unions have gone on a strike and the official said this had not helped matters as well.

Two of the three wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft were grounded in 2020 and one in 2021. Five A320 aircraft have also been grounded — two in 2021 and three in 2023. PIA also grounded three ATR aircraft — one each in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Three of the aircraft – a Boeing 777, Airbus and ATR – are said to be beyond repair.

The national airline has an international network of flights to Asia, Europe and North America covering 19 destinations.

The official said the airline was continuing its operations with the available 20 aircrafts but its flight schedule had been affected particularly at the domestic level.