Protesting privatisation: 16 PIA flights cancelled on Friday

LAHORE:

The Pakistan International Airlines workers’ strike against the government’s plan to privatise the national flag carrier continued on Friday.

As many as 16 PIA flights were cancelled at Allama Iqbal International Airport.

The PIA workers continued a sit-in in front of the airport on the fourth consecutive day. The number of activists at the camp was around 150 and 200.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cancelled entry passes of the protesting workers, a CAA official told The Express Tribune.

The PIA management had on Thursday announced that an agreement had been reached with two private airlines, Shaheen Airlines and Air Blue, to accommodate passengers with confirmed tickets for its cancelled flights. However, the troubles of such passengers continued on Friday. Some of them said the option provided on the PIA website to book an exchange flight on the private airlines was not working. Others said PIA help desks and counters on the airport were closed. PIA spokesperson Daniyal Gillani said the two private airlines had accommodated PIA passengers on seats available on their flights. He said work was underway to fix the online system. On the closure of the help desks at the airport, he said unions had threatened some of the workers and caused them to stop working.

The spokesperson said once the airlines resumed normal operations, refunds could be claimed for all unused tickets.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2016.