Saving PIA

PIA is the national airline of Pakistan, a country with a population of over 180 million, out of which almost 15 million are Pakistani nationality holding expatriates, is incurring losses not because of lack of willing clients, but deliberate pilferage, corruption and the mafia of kickbacks and corruption that dominates its executive corridors. The national airline can be saved only if highly qualified men of integrity are appointed to run it, instead of these cronies who have destroyed it by design and sheer incompetence.
Half the fleet of PIA is grounded because of controversial appointment of select vendors with no credibility, instead of a choice of multiple manufacture recommended vendors located along its international hubs. The routes developed over years of hard work were surrendered by marketing executives, who were paid a premium by regional airlines in the Gulf and Mid-East. Most of them after retirement were accommodated by these very airlines or travel agencies, for cushy jobs within their subsidiaries.
Religious tourism such as Hajj or Umra, which were once considered to be a service to facilitate pilgrims is now a cut throat business to fleece them by the nexus of marketing and travel agents cum tour operators. PIA’s US operation is the favourite choice of expatriates, because of service and reliability, was polluted by politically nominated controversial PIA executives posted here. While these travel agents, tour operators and few executives became billionaires, PIA losses started escalating. In Lahore PIA’s revenue generating sales office located in Gulberg was closed to facilitate the travel agency owned by a relative of a high official in PIA. Travel agents formed cartels for Umra passengers.
It is an airline, where individuals, who during regular service were involved in massive corruption scams, are now being rehired on contract, as if to put the last nail in the coffin, of what was once a profitable airline, till it was destroyed by political appointees of various civil and military governments from Zia-ul-Haq onwards. Instead of resurrecting and constructive restructuring of this national asset, both Musharraf and present PPP-led coalition have handed this airline to semi literate cronies, who have driven it to state of technical insolvency, with daily losses running to over Rs 8 crore and mounting.
TAHIR G HASSAN
Texas, USA