Saudi Arabia has allowed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to bring back passengers and Umrah pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia till March 17. The national carrier can send its aircraft to Jeddah and Madina only for the purpose of bringing back those stranded in Saudi Arabia. The spokesman of PIA, Abdullah Hafeez said PIA had been granted special permission by the Saudi authorities to operate its flights to Jeddah and Madina till March 17.
People across the country crowded offices of the Pakistan International Airways after Saudi Arabia imposed a 72-hour deadline for iqama holders (residents) to return to the Kingdom. The decision was taken a precautionary measure after the global coronavirus outbreak. PIA was ordered by the federal government on Friday to only operate international flights from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
An accountability court in Islamabad has summoned witnesses in the PIA illegal appointment case on March 20. Judge Mohammad Bashir heard the case on Monday. Former secretary Muhammad Irfan Elahi and Musharraf Rasool appeared in court, while former aviation adviser Sardar Mahtab Abbasi didn’t appear. The court has instructed the witnesses to appear at the next hearing.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has discontinued its flight operations for China and Japan for at least three weeks in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. While announcing the halt of flight operations on Monday, the airline spokesperson said that the ban is a precautionary measure. The decision on whether to resume flights or extend the ban will be taken next week.
The Supreme Court has told Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik to choose between the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and PIA. He cannot hold two posts at once, said the bench, which declared his appointment as chief of the national airlines illegal. The court said PIA needs a permanent CEO that will make it into an international standard airline. It should be providing better services to passengers, it said.
466 employees of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been found guilty of submitting fake and tampered-with degrees and educational certificates to the national carrier in the last five years. The Ministry of Aviation has given a detailed list of employees to the Senate Secretariat. It told the Senate that any person found with a fake degree would not be able to escape from their liability as PIA is devising a policy for early verfication of credentials.
With 5,686 flights in six cities in FY19, Serene Air has grown to become the second largest airline in Pakistan. The airline recorded double-digit growth of 29 percent for passenger traffic in 2019. The airline is in competition with other airlines such as PIA and Airblue to grab the market share which was created due to the closure of Shaheen Air.
PIA has been slapped with a massive fine for leaving passengers’ luggage in Saudi Arabia. It has been fined 72,000 Saudi Riyals or Rs2.97 million. Saudi Ground Services fined PIA 1,000 Riyal per container of luggage. Most recently, PIA left the luggage for the Islamabad-bound PK-754 and Lahore-bound PK-725 in Riyadh. This isn’t the first time PIA has left its luggage in Saudi Arabia.
A special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying 113 stranded Pakistani prisoners in Malaysia is scheduled to arrive today in Islamabad. The information was shared by Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, which stated that the “boarding process” to bring back the stranded Pakistani is “in process”. The government had brought back 300 Pakistanis from Malaysia in May 2019 as well.
International banks are willing to invest in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), according to the PIA CEO, Air Marshal Arshad Malik. The interest was shown after observing steady improvements in PIA’s financials as the national carrier’s revenue is increasing. The CEO noted that the losses have been brought down considerably and will be evident from 2019’s audited reports.