KARACHI:
Due to the ongoing dispute between the PIA management and flight engineers, flight cancellations and delays continued on Sunday, marking the sixth consecutive day of disruption.
According to sources, nine PIA flights were canceled and 18 flights delayed from morning to evening on Sunday. The cancellations and delays were primarily due to technical faults in aircraft and lack of spare parts.
Among the canceled international flights were Abu Dhabi-Peshawar, Dubai-Karachi, Faisalabad-Dubai, Dubai-Faisalabad and Peshawar-Dubai.
Domestic, the canceled flights included Gilgit-Islamabad, Islamabad-Gilgit, Skardu-Islamabad and Islamabad-Skardu. Flight PK-143 from Islamabad to Al Ain departed almost 10 hours late.
A total of 18 domestic and international flights of the national carrier faced delays of between three and ten hours. By 5pm alone, nine flights had been canceled and 18 delayed purely due to technical issues.
However, in a detailed statement issued to the media, the PIA spokesperson claimed that no PIA flight had been canceled during the last two days due to a strike by engineering staff.
“Cancellations that occurred were due to schedule rationalization, weather conditions or other operational reasons,” it said.
A conflict between PIA management and the Society of Aircraft Engineers (SAEP) intensified on 6 November after PIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) suspended the SAEP President and General Secretary for holding a press conference and disclosing official information.
On 10 October, PIA engineers claimed that serious failures in aircraft maintenance and a series of non-technical decisions by management had turned the PIA fleet into a scrap yard, reducing the number of operational aircraft from 34 to just 12.
Meanwhile, PIA Air League and PIA Senior Staff Officers Association (SASA) have announced their support to SEAP amid its tussle with PIA management.
Both unions condemned the dismissal of the SEAP president and general secretary after addressing a press conference, calling it an administrative action.
SEAP also strongly condemned the PIA management’s crackdown on engineers “who refuse to compromise passenger safety”. In a statement, SEAP said PIA Engineering has started retaliatory measures against those who insist on maintaining international maintenance standards.
The PIA spokesperson said the statement issued by “the so-called engineering community – containing false data and facts contrary to reality – and its subsequent media coverage represents a malicious attempt to attract undue attention in international forums”.
