PIA employees fear hiring of retired air force men

Airline unaware, says there is complete ban on hiring.


Our Correspondent March 05, 2012

KARACHI:


Leading associations of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) employees have voiced concern over expected hiring of retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) employees in the airline, saying the government’s decision will further destabilise the national flag carrier.


Representatives of the Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees met recently to discuss this issue.

Presidents of seven associations that make up the Joint Action Committee said there were indications that the government was going to hire retired PAF employees in the airline on top positions from the managing director to other important slots.

Talking to The Express Tribune, General Secretary of the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan, Zakir Farooq, said the PIA employees were getting the impression that a number of retired PAF employees were going to be hired in the airline.

“Based on our previous experience, we can say that this decision will not help the airline,” he said. “PIA needs people who have an experience in commercial aviation.”

Farooq said PIA was a commercial airline that should be run by business-minded people who had some experience in commercial aviation. However, in case of PAF employees, that could not be expected owing to their experience of armed forces.

PIA spokesperson Sultan Hasan, however, said there was a complete ban on hiring in PIA. “No one is going to be hired in the airline,” he said.

He denied having knowledge of any such decision, but said it was up to the government to hire people in PIA.

According to PIA officials, rumours were doing the rounds that the outgoing PAF chief would take over as managing director of the airline and bring his new team comprising retired PAF employees.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2012.

COMMENTS (17)

Amir Aki | 12 years ago | Reply

I fully support the idea of Mr Awais and Mr Rizvi. PIA management needs complete replacement with honest, sincere and dedicated personnel. May it be from our beloved Air Force or civilian team but must be conditioned with time lines.

Engr Amir Ali

Meekal Ahmed | 12 years ago | Reply

@Awais:

Sorry, ther is no "standard practice".

It is true, however, that airlines draw upon the military for their pilots. yet, most countries have civilian flying schools which produce "honest and hard working heads". So should Pakistan.

So, my original question was/is 'why did we stop the PIA Academy'?

the answer is obvious: in our country, the military is king.

Stop kidding yourself.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ