CAA workers announce ‘massive protest’ against outsourcing

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) employees on Thursday announced launching a “massive protest” against the government’s decision to outsource the operations and land assets of three major airports, threatening to halt the authority’s operations.

The authorities have started the outsourcing process at Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad airports to be run through a public-private partnership, a move meant to generate foreign exchange reserves.

The CAA unions – Akai and Jaca – launched a protest at the arrival lounge of the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. Later, the union members gathered on the airport’s main road in the form of a rally.

The union members wearing black armbands chanted slogans against the government and the CAA management.

Addressing the participants of the rally, Akai Secretary General Samiullah maintained that the CAA director general had “destroyed” the institution.

He vowed to fight a “legal war” against the government’s move, noting that the CAA was not getting any significant amount from outsourcing.

He recalled that the CAA had earned Rs150 billion last year while pointing out that the institution had a potential to gain Rs500 billion.

Jaca Central President Aziz Memon also stressed that they would challenge the government’s act at every forum, including the courts, adding that protest on a large scale was being organised from the Islamabad International Airport, which would be extended to Karachi and Lahore.

The protesters warned that they would utilise all options, including halting the CAA operations, if the process to outsource airports was not stopped.

Recently, Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique stressed the importance of encouraging the private sector to carry out business responsibilities while the government focuses on regulatory responsibilities.

“Outsourcing does not mean privatization … these (Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad) airports will be handed over to international operators for a certain period of time, a practice followed by other countries worldwide. Once that period ends, the airports will be returned to Pakistan with all the value addition done by the companies,” he said.