One of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) planes has been damaged after landing at the Sialkot airport. The Boeing 777 which was flying from Jeddah to Sialkot was taxiing after the landing when one of its tires burst on a rough portion of the tarmac. The plane remained grounded at the airport for three hours and caused damage worth several hundred thousand rupees.
A British-Pakistani passenger, travelling on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, was briefly detained and then charged Rs. 10,000 fine for smoking during a flight. Ahsan, a chain-smoker, went to the airplane’s lavatory to smoke a cigarette or two and was caught when other passengers saw the smoke coming out. The crew confiscated his passport and was briefly detained by the Airport Security Force (ASF) upon landing at Islamabad International airport.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has once again increased additional luggage charges for both domestic and international passengers. As per the spokesman of PIA, the national flag-carrier has imposed charges of Rs. 5,800 on extra baggage of more than 10 kg for international and domestic flights. Passengers traveling from Karachi to Dubai and Jeddah will be charged Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 800 for each kg of extra luggage whereas for Toronto Rs 25,000 and Rs 3,500 per kg for London bound flights.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is all set to start direct flights to the United States, ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Washington next week. Islamabad has geared up to take direct flights to New York for the first time in the country’s history after discontinuing it in October 2017 via Manchester due to Washington’s security concerns.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer Air Marshal Arshad Mahmood Malik has said that monthly operational losses of the national flag carrier have been cut to half. The CEO said that the losses have been brought down to Rs1.5 billion as compared to more than Rs3 billion suffered earlier. However, a lot more still needs to be done to deal with PIA’s liabilities.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has launched a mobile application in collaboration with Turkish IT company Hitit, that will let users book and confirm flights through their smartphones. The application is available on Google Play Store and allows user to book flights, view booking details, check flight status and schedules etc.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in order to improve its performance in the aviation sector has increased its flights to the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been increased weekly whereas new flights from Islamabad, Peshawar, and Lahore to gulf countries are now scheduled, according to PIA Public Affairs Manager Athar Awan. Business community in Faisalabad would benefit from the new flights as they wont have to catch flights from Lahore or Islamabad now.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) management has laid off nearly 1,000 surplus employees in order to reduce operational cost. The staff which has been termed “redundant” by PIA President Arshad Malik, was laid off on cost cutting recommendations of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. Dr Sheikh asked PIA to effectively utilise its assets, improve revenue streams and ensure efficiency and financial discipline.
During a meeting of the aviation division Prime Minister Imran approved purchase of additional planes for Pakistan International Airline’s existing fleet. The PM gave orders for the improvement of the airline and increase in travel facilities. Overall 12 new planes will be added to PIA’s fleet by 2023. In the initial stage, four planes will be added to the fleet by 2020.
In an official post on social media, Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) has lauded President of Pakistan for ‘leading by example’ to make way for others. Recounting President Arif Alvi’s travel experience on flight PK 301 from Islamabad to Karachi, the national flag carrier commended his decision to adjust three of his family members in economy class due to flight load.