No plan to privatize any PIA assets: Aviation Minister

Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced in the National Assembly on Friday that there were no concrete plans to privatize any assets of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“The present government is very keen to make the national flag carrier, a self-reliant and profitable entity. Efforts are underway to improve the financial health of the airline by reducing its losses through various different means” the minister informed the House during question hour.

"Loss-making routes have been closed and flights on profitable routes have been added which has resulted in a reduction of losses,” he added.

Responding to a question, Sarwar said 82 pilots had been dismissed for acquiring licenses through unfair means and that a transparent mechanism was evolved and introduced in order to ensure the issuance of licenses in a fair and transperant manner.

“An agreement has also been signed with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and this international authority will carry out an audit of our entire Civil Aviation Authority in July this year,” he further stated.

The aviation minister was confident this will lead to the removal of travel restrictions on PIA among European countries and will enable the airline to regain its past glory.

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The European Union aviation safety watchdog had previously decided to retain its ban on PIA from operating in EU member states, expressing its dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Civil Aviation Authority to address licensing and safety concerns.

However recently in March, The European Union's aviation safety watchdog termed safety standards of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as "satisfactory".

The decision was made following a two-day meeting of the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and CAA officials, in which representatives from Denmark, Italy and Sweden participated via video link.

During the meeting, Deputy Director-General for Regulatory Affairs Nadir Shafi Dar briefed the participants on the steps taken by the country’s aviation authority.