Financial crisis takes a toll on PIA passengers

Thousands of commuters suffer flight delays amid fuel shortage

KARACHI:

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is facing a significant disruption in its flight operations due to a constrained fuel supply, resulting in the cancellation and suspension of numerous flights. This has, in turn, placed substantial mental stress on thousands of passengers.

Over the course of several days, both domestic and international flights have encountered substantial delays, often lasting several hours. The underlying cause of this fuel shortage stems from the reluctance of the state-owned oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), to provide fuel to the national flag carrier. This reluctance is a result of PIA's outstanding dues, which remain unpaid.

On Tuesday, PSO provided fuel for only 13 flights, including 10 international and 3 domestic routes. PIA itself scheduled these thirteen flights. The national airline's administration on Tuesday purchased fuel from PSO worth Rs12.5 million, and the same amount of fuel will be provided today [Wednesday].

Due to this restricted supply, PIA's Karachi to Turbat flight PK 501, scheduled to depart at 7 am on Tuesday, was rescheduled for 1 pm due to the delayed fuel supply.

The Islamabad to Karachi flight, scheduled to depart at 7 am, took off after a 3-hour delay. Similarly, the Lahore to Islamabad flight scheduled at 7 am was delayed by 2.5 hours. The flights of the national airline from Islamabad to Dubai also experienced several hours of delay.

The current fuel crisis has led to the cancellation of more than 19 national and international flights by PIA, with over 20 domestic and international flights experiencing unusual delays.

Additionally, the PIA flights from Lahore to Islamabad, scheduled to depart at night, were unable to take off. Karachi to Islamabad flights PK368 and PK369 were also cancelled.

The flight from Karachi to Lahore was delayed by more than 4 hours. Flights to Islamabad from Dubai were delayed by over 3.5 hours. The flight from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi, scheduled for 3:40 pm, was delayed by 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Read also: 14 PIA flights cancelled due to lack of fuel

Flights from Peshawar to Dubai (PK 283) were delayed by more than 10 hours, and the Peshawar to Sharjah flight (PK 257) was delayed by 8 hours.

Flight PK325 from Islamabad to Quetta was delayed by more than 9 hours. Flight PK301 from Karachi to Islamabad was delayed by 2.5 hours. Peshawar to Riyadh flight PK 727 was delayed by 5 hours.

The PIA flight PK 223 from Faisalabad to Dubai was delayed by 15 hours. The flight PK765 from Multan to Riyadh was delayed by 9 hours, the flight PK 715 from Multan to Medina was delayed by 3 hours, and the flight PK739 from Multan to Jeddah was delayed by 3 hours.

Flights from Sialkot to Jeddah and Sharjah experienced delays of over 9 hours.

On Tuesday, PIA paid Rs125 million to PSO to resume flight operations. However, the airline will need to pay at least Rs100 million to PSO daily to continue normal operations. Over 14 flights were cancelled on Monday due to a lack of fuel.

As reported by The Express Tribune on Sunday, PIA has sought additional borrowing of over Rs7 billion from banks due to concerns about the potential partial or complete suspension of its flight operations resulting from a severe financial crisis.

According to the report, PIA wrote to the Aviation Division, requesting an immediate loan of over Rs7 billion from banks. The letter also noted that the government of Pakistan's guarantee includes the option for the airline to secure a loan of Rs7.5 billion.