- Thursday, February 27, 2025
PIA CEO air vice marshal Amir Hayat said the national carrier faced a loss of Rs 80 billion (£218.3 million) last year due to old loans and interest payments, the country’s Express Tribune reported.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Pakistan’s cash-strapped national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is expected to suffer a loss to the tune of Rs (Pakistani) 112 billion (£305.6 million) in the current year and operating the airline on a public-private partnership model is the only solution to turn it into a profitable organisation, its chief executive officer (CEO) has said.
At a press briefing, PIA CEO air vice marshal Amir Hayat said the national carrier faced a loss of Rs 80 billion (£218.3 million) last year due to old loans and interest payments, the country’s Express Tribune reported.
He also said that the PIA had a debt of Rs 742 billion (£2 billion) passed on to its current management.
Hayat warned that if the airline was not restructured, its annual loss would reach Rs 259 billion (£707 million) in 2030.
“We have drawn up a roadmap for this purpose,” he said.
He maintained that running the PIA on a public-private partnership basis was the only solution to turn the airline into a profitable and international standard organisation.
The PIA chief claimed that maximum reforms had been made in the airline’s operations.
He added that four modern Airbus 320 aircraft were acquired and two long-standing Boeing 777 planes refurbished.
The ailing national carrier suffered a loss of Rs 38 billion (£103.7 million) in the first three months of this year, 171 per cent more than the corresponding period in 2022, according to a media report.
During the first three months of the ongoing year, the national carrier only managed to earn Rs 61 billion (£166.4 million).
It suffered a loss of Rs 21 billion (£57.3 million) because of the appreciation of the dollar against the rupee.
The rising oil prices and interest rates also played a role in PIA’s mounting losses.
(With PTI inputs)
