PPP seeks answers from govt on closure of PIA flights to US

Party's lawmakers submit call attention notice to the National Assembly

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People's Party  (PPP) lawmakers submitted a call attention notice to the National Assembly on Monday to take up the issue of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) shutting down flights to the US.

In the notice, the PPP legislators drew the attention of the prime minister, in his capacity as the minister in-charge of the aviation division, to the federal government's "uninspiring decision" to completely shut down the national flags carrier's flights to the US from January 2018.



They pointed out that the move would affect more than half a million Pakistanis living in the US and many Pakistani visitors to the US as there would be no direct flights between the two countries.

The lawmakers further pointed out that the federal government's claims that the PIA had been revived and  turned into a profit-making entity during its four-year tenure had been exposed by the recent decision.

In fact, they added, the national flag carrier's losses had further increased and its operational capacity had hit a new low.

The lawmakers sought an immediate response from the prime minister on the issue on the floor of the House.

The lawmakers who submitted the notice included Nafisa Shah, Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri.



The flagship carrier had temporarily stopped booking US-bound flights for November after the management started mulling over ending operations to the US due to financial losses.

PIA flight PK-712 that left from Lahore for New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Sunday was reportedly the last flight from Pakistan to the US.

According to the PIA’s financial statement for up to September 2016, the airlines’ total liabilities have mounted to Rs349 billion as against only Rs113.8 billion assets.

Earlier this month, PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar told The Express Tribune that the airline would continue its flight operations to the United States.

However, he added, the national flag carrier was seriously mulling to devise an effective strategy to minimise the expenses for running the US-bound flights.