KARACHI: As there seems no end to the financial crisis of PIA, the national flag carrier had to cancel about 24 flights in a day.
These cancelled flights included domestic and international that further increased its daily liabilities with no hope for the government to come to its rescue.
A source said that an stage was being prepared for altogether shutting down of the PIA as its financial situation was leading to such a low that there would be no one interested even to afford buying it.
On Wednesday, the cash-strapped PIA) had to cancel 24 domestic and international flights due to a limited supply of fuel by Pakistan State Oil (PSO). Only 26 of PIA’s flights departed for their respective destinations.
Sources said PIA paid Rs150 million to PSO for fueling these 26 flights. On Tuesday, PSO had provided fuel for only 13 PIA flights, including 10 international and 3 domestic routes, upon payment of Rs125 million.
Athar Awan, a deputy spokesman for PIA, told AFP news agency that: said these flight cancellations were “The reason for the disruption in fuel supply is non-payment of dues because PIA is facing a financial crisis and cannot pay the dues to PSO on time.”
In a statement, the airline said it expected normal service to resume from Thursday after paying for fuel “from its own resources.”
PIA has liabilities of Rs743 billion (around $2.5 billion), exceeding its total assets by five times.
PIA has written 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.
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