KARACHI:
Due to the ongoing dispute between PIA management and aeronautical engineers, flight cancellations and delays continued on Sunday, marking the sixth consecutive day of disruptions.
According to sources, nine PIA flights were canceled and 18 flights delayed from Sunday morning to afternoon. Cancellations and delays were mainly due to technical failures on the aircraft and the lack of availability of spare parts.
Among the canceled international flights were Abu Dhabi-Peshawar, Dubai-Karachi, Faisalabad-Dubai, Dubai-Faisalabad and Peshawar-Dubai.
Domestically, the canceled flights included Gilgit-Islamabad, Islamabad-Gilgit, Skardu-Islamabad and Islamabad-Skardu. Flight PK-143 from Islamabad to Al Ain took off almost 10 hours late.
In total, 18 domestic and international flights of the national airline suffered delays of between three and ten hours. As of 5pm alone, nine flights had been canceled and 18 delayed due to engineering-related issues alone.
However, in a detailed statement sent to the media, the PIA spokesperson said that in the last two days no PIA flight had been canceled due to a strike by engineering staff.
“The cancellations that occurred were due to rationalization of schedules, weather conditions or other operational reasons,” he said.
A conflict between the PIA management and the Society of Aeronautical Engineers (SAEP) escalated on November 6 after the PIA chief executive officer (CEO) dismissed the SAEP president and general secretary from service for holding a press conference and revealing official information.
On 10 October, PIA engineers alleged that serious failures in aircraft maintenance and a series of non-technical decisions by management had turned PIA’s fleet into a scrapyard, reducing the number of operational aircraft from 34 to just 12.
Meanwhile, the PIA Air League and the PIA Senior Staff Officer Association (SASA) have announced their support for the SEAP amid their dispute with the PIA management.
Both unions condemned the dismissal of the president and general secretary of the SEAP during a press conference, calling it an act of administrative victimization.
The SEAP also strongly condemned the PIA management’s crackdown on engineers “who refuse to compromise the safety of passengers”. In a statement, the SEAP said that PIA Engineering has initiated retaliatory measures against those who insist on maintaining international maintenance standards.
The PIA spokesperson stated that the statement issued by “the so-called engineering society, which contains false data and facts contrary to reality, and its subsequent media coverage, represents a malicious attempt to attract undue attention in international forums.”
