Exporters demand direct international flights

Oppose shifting of PIA offices from easily accessible city centre to airport.

FAISALABAD: Textile exporters have asked the government to start international flights from Faisalabad which will create direct links between sellers and buyers of products.

In a statement on Wednesday, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) Chairman Rana Arif Tauseef said a large number of foreign buyers visited Faisalabad while exporters also frequently travelled to Europe and the US. “In the absence of direct international flights, textile exporters have either to route their travel via Karachi or have to travel by road to Lahore airport for onward travel, which is a cumbersome exercise.”

With no cargo export facility through air, he said, exporters of Faisalabad, dubbed the Manchester of Pakistan, were compelled to opt for the sea route, which was contrary to the trend all over the world where businessmen were increasingly relying on the air route for faster shipment of goods.

Though PTEA had financially assisted the Civil Aviation Authority in upgrading the Faisalabad airport, the dream of international flights remained unfulfilled, he pointed out.

Tauseef also underlined the need for appointing Pakistan International Airlines’ district manager – a position which had been lying vacant for a long time.

He also criticised the shifting of PIA offices from the airport to the city centre.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2011.