Pakistan: Pakistan’s state-run airline admitted on Friday that the fleet could be grounded within days as it struggles to pay bills and salaries. State-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said the company is seeking immediate financial help from the treasury, but the funds have not been provided yet.
Decades of mismanagement and instability have hobbled Pakistan’s economy and this year Islamabad was forced to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid default.
Hafeez said three flights were stopped on Thursday and salaries were also delayed. Of the fleet of 31, 25 planes are still flying, he said, with the others grounded for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance.
Local television channel Geo News reported this week that the airline was on the verge of collapse and that flight operations could be suspended within days if emergency funding was not provided. Bloomberg reported that PIA had liabilities of Rs 743 billion (about $2.5 billion), which is five times its total assets.