Private airlines on Wednesday raised fares for the stranded passengers to take advantage of the ongoing strike by the employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) against privatisation of the national flag carrier.
Most of the passengers were seen crowding the counters of private airlines.
Usually, the one-way fare from Karachi to Lahore or Islamabad is around Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 but after the PIA strike, the private airlines have increased the fare to Rs 15,000 while their tickets are being sold at around Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in black.
The stranded passengers complained that they were stuck due to the PIA employees’ strike and were being taken advantage of by the private airlines, which had almost doubled the fares.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority has decided to take emergency steps to mitigate the sufferings of passengers.
A CAA spokesman, in a statement, said that the Authority had directed private airline Air Blue to start additional flights for Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.
