SUCCESSIVE managements, including those under whose watch PIA flights were suspended by European Aviation Safety Agency, are part of the problem. Their performance, track record, inexperience in commercial airline have driven an airline like PIA to insolvency. PIA’s total loss and debt are a staggering Rs742Billion, which have increased over the past five years. Just to give you an idea about the lack of acumen and expertise of those at helm of PIA, two incidents, which occurred in 2020 would be enough to gauge this.
In one incident a fully serviceable B777, worth over $70Million was badly damaged, with estimated cost of repair more than the value of aircraft. It stands grounded for over three years and is now being scrapped. It is an international practice that emergency drills for evacuation, anti-hijacking etc. are carried out on mock-aircraft models or an aircraft grounded by the airline, declared unfit to fly again. PIA had offered a grounded Boeing 747-300 (AP-BFV) for any emergency drills including Anti Hijacking manoeuvres by ASF etc.
However, what happened was that an airworthy B777-200ER registration AP-BGK, which had just operated a domestic flight was made available for Anti Hijacking exercise at Karachi Airport on 27February 2020, allegedly as instructed by CEO PIA. The Anti Hijacking unit of ASF rammed their vehicle into this B777-200ER and by the time their exercise was over, the aircraft had been damaged beyond repair and is amongst the 3 B777s that the airlines has declared as scrap.
Despite the fact that hardly 18 to 19 aircrafts are serviceable, routes slashed, and airline having Liabilities exceeding its assets, with no funds to pay even lease instalments, fuel etc.; CAA Pakistan, which has no role other than its regulatory function, has proposed to hire over 150 more pilots, when PIA cannot even pay to those already on its payroll. PIA can no longer afford to be a nursery to rehabilitate and train pilots to get type ratings on commercial aircrafts, irrespective of who they are affiliated with. PIA is already under scrutiny and must be very careful. Recruitment of pilots in any airline depends solely on Pilot Utilization, Fleet Utilization, Routes Structure, Frequency of flights and Balance Sheet of an airline.
All airlines under regulatory control of Pakistan CAA have been banned from operation into European Airspace by EASA following the baseless statement made by former PTI Minister for Aviation on the floor of National Assembly Pakistan that 150 pilots working in PIA had “dubious licenses”. There was absolutely no need for such a statement, nor any link with the incident of Pk 8303 which crash landed in Karachi on 20May 2020. Nobody has bothered to investigate, as to who gave this distorted information to the Minister, who as head of Aviation has a whole division headed by Federal Secretary and CAA etc. under him. Are we to assume that this was a figment of his own imagination?
There were many others, including the sitting PM who cheered the Minister when he made these damning revelations, which sounded Death Knell for commercial aviation industry. EASA based on the self-confessed incapability by Aviation Minister that CAA, which issues licenses, conducts examinations, carries our standard inspections, maintenance regulation etc., is incapable to perform its regulatory functions. It required CAA Pakistan to submit to Safety Audit by EASA, which if satisfactory, would enable it to allow Pakistan regulated airlines and aircrafts registered by them to operate into Europe. Almost three years have elapsed and CAA has as yet, failed to restructure itself, submit to EASA audit to convince them that it has capability and expertise of qualified and experienced standard inspectors on its payroll, with no conflicts of interest, to perform their regulatory functions.
AM Nur Khan in his wisdom ventured into hospitality business investing in hotels like Roosevelt located in Manhattan NYC, Hotel Scribe in Paris to serve as an asset for PIA, instead they have become a liability, both for PIA and national exchequer. Despite failure of PIA Investments, the same “Cooks Who Spoiled the Broth” continue to be at helm, despite the fact that most of them are octogenarians, holding foreign nationalities. They have survived through networking and appeasing nominated members of Board of Directors of an organization, wholly owned by the National Exchequer. These BOD meetings have been held either in Paris or NYC where they enjoy hospitality with free accommodation at hotels owned by tax payers of Pakistan, despite the economic quagmire that we are engulfed with.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
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