The National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has been informed that the PIA owed Rs 226 billion to different banks and it continues to suffer a loss of Rs 226 billion annually.
The committee meeting was held under the chair of assembly member Parveen Masood Bhatti at the PIA office on Thursday.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Secretary Muhammad Ali Gardezi told the committee that the financial health of PIA was very pitiable and it had defaulted in making payment to different banks and financial institutions. The PIA suffered a loss of Rs 26 billion last year while it faced a loss of Rs 40 billion in 2013. The PIA has to pay Rs 13 billion on account of interest every month,” he told the meeting.
Committee Member Maryam Aurangzeb said that substandard food was being served to passengers by the PIA management. She said that foreigners call the PIA rubbish. “The left-over meal of Serena is being served to PIA passengers. Why the management has awarded contract to Serena for providing food to the PIA,” she inquired.
The CAA secretary told the committee that the government and the management was focusing to address the issues facing the PIA. “New planes have been included into the PIA fleet. The new price of assets of PIA all over the world is being determined and the PIA will soon be turned into a profit earning airline,” he claimed but the members did not believe his words. The committee directed the PIA to submit a detailed report in respect of provision of substandard foods and total losses in the next meeting.
