PIA on verge of collapse, says airline director

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is on the verge of collapse as a top official of the national flag carrier has warned that flight operations are feared to be suspended by September 15 if emergency funds are not provided, Geo News has learnt. Speaking to Geo News on Wednesday, a senior director of the national flag carrier said the number of operational planes had been reduced to 16 from 23 which led to the cancellation of several flights. The official said aircraft manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — have also suspended spare parts supplies to the PIA over non-payment and the national airline was incurring losses worth millions of rupees daily due to limited flight operations. The official also revealed that a PIA plane was stopped at Dammam airport while another four at Dubai airport over failure to pay for fuel. The planes were allowed to leave on written assurance of the PIA, the official said, adding that the IATA restored PIA services after an emergency payment of $3.5m was made. The official warned that flight operations may be suspended by September 15 if Rs23b were not provided in emergency funds. Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson said in a statement that all-out efforts were being made to save the flight operations from suspension.<br/>