LAHORE: PIA, which has trained many airlines of the world including Emirates and Saudi Airlines, and put them on their feet, today is not only running at a loss, but the bids to sell it are also being put at the price of money. has been
Experts believe that indeed PIA should be privatized, but if while reforming PIA to revive it, the ship sinkers of this institution are caught and its loss is like the loss of other government institutions. Once the government supports PIA on its own, then PIA can become a profitable enterprise even today.
Regarding the privatization of PIA, there is considerable anxiety among the general public. There are many questions in the minds of the people that who did this to PIA, who looted PIA and what action was taken against them?
On the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Auditor General conducted a complete audit from 2007 to 2017, then the matter of reaching the current situation of PIA came to light that how previous audit firms colluded with PIA officers during the audit. Not only did they catch the fraud in this department, but they suppressed all the frauds that came to light and did not even recommend any action against those responsible for these frauds.
In this regard, the biggest fraud in PIA was in ticketing which was 44 billion 50 crore rupees. After that fraud was also committed in respect of equipment purchased for PIA. While recording the price of the equipment at 24 thousand dollars, it was increased to 340 thousand dollars, but no action was taken against any liability.
A new ticketing software company was awarded a contract for a dollar and a half per ticket, even though the previous company was doing the same job for only 46 cents per ticket. Despite such huge frauds, the government did not take any action due to which more scams continued.
Apart from this, such officers were appointed in PIA who had nothing to do with aviation, but they did not even know the difference between an Airbus and a Boeing plane, but they were seated in big seats. Majority of the 11 Board of Directors of PIA did not know the alphabet of PIA.
Apart from this, only 14 or 15 of PIA’s total 35 aircraft are operational which is one of the major and main reasons for its deficit.
In 2011, for the first time, a bailout package of 50 to 55 billion rupees was asked for PIA so that PIA could cover its losses and stand on its feet, but that bailout package was not given, so in the next few years, PI A’s deficit has reached 400 billion rupees from 272 billion rupees and today it has reached 800 billion rupees.
A major reason for this loss is the laxity and incompetence of PIA’s engineering department, which, despite having contracts with other aircraft manufacturers including Airbus and Boeing, did not repair damaged aircraft while maintaining, repairing and purchasing aircraft. The agreement with France World Aviation is also due to the reasons of loss of PIA and all this is written in the Auditor General’s report.
When the process of privatization of PIA started, the Auditor General’s report was also removed from its website. Some ex-employees of PIA approached the judiciary in these circumstances, but they could not be heard.
The government can make PIA a profitable company again if it wants, but for this, instead of taking tough decisions, the government needs professionals who not only understand PIA but also run different airlines of the world successfully. have been, will have to be recalled and given a free hand, which will not require the sale of this institution.
PIA’s London and Frankfurt routes are worth 350 to 400 million dollars, while PIA has more than 350 other profitable routes which could improve if they are restructured. The employees who have been associated with PIA for decades are also of the same opinion that if the government gives a bailout package and appoints honest and professional officers back to important seats and targets them, then PIA will be profitable again in just two or three years. will become
If we look at the process of privatization of PIA in recent days, it is revealed that not an aviation company but a real estate developer came forward to buy PIA, from which PIA employees, general public And there is great reluctance among overseas Pakistanis who have always preferred PIA to travel to Pakistan from abroad.
If these overseas Pakistanis are asked for help to revive PIA, not only will PIA stand on its own feet, but there will be no need to sell it.
