A business development plan to improve the efficiency of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and transform it into a profitable entity has been evolved and sent to the Finance Division for necessary action, Minister for Defence Ahmad Mukhtar said on Friday.
Replying to questions during the Question Hour in the Senate, the minister said the plan aimed at making PIA a profitable entity. He said the ageing fleet of PIA would be replaced with the new aircraft to provide better transportation facilities to the people. Mukhtar said the government’s initiatives helped PIA generate revenue and further efforts were afoot to reduce the cost of its maintenance. He said the routes causing losses to PIA had been shutdown.
To a question raised by Senator Haroon Akhtar about overstaffing and mismanagement in PIA, the minister said the airline suffered a loss of Rs 38 billion in 2008 and that was not due to mismanagement but due to devaluation of Pakistan’s currency. He said the other reason in PIA’s loss was an increase in fuel prices. He said the cost of fuel accounted 54 percent of the total cost of PIA.
