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International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Captain Ijaz Haroon on Saturday blamed the previous management of the national flag carrier for the organisation’s poor financial health, saying that the airlines currently owed Rs 142 billion in loans.
Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence, which met under the chairpersonship of MNA Faryal Talpur, he denied the PIA was on the verge of bankruptcy or that there were any plans to privatise it.
Haroon informed the committee that PIA had to pay back Rs 142 billion in loans including Rs 25 billion to local banks. He said the organisation had suffered a loss of Rs 35.9 billion last year, adding that the depreciation of the rupee had also contributed to PIA’s financial woes.
He told the committee the previous management had neglected revenue generation and relied on loans to run the organisation.
Defence Secretary Syed Athar Ali, also present at the briefing, also endorsed what the PIA chairman said and added that there had been substantial lapses under the previous management.
Haroon said the current management was focusing on revenue generation, which was evident from the Rs 1.81 billion profits that the organisation had earned this year.
The standing committee expressed its concern over the huge losses accumulated by the PIA during the last few years.
At the PIA management’s request, the committee agreed to ask Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen to reschedule the national flag carrier’s loans and award new loans at low interest rates.
The committee also recommended the PIA revised its pricing formula for haj and umrah fares, saying the PIA charged high fares.
Talking to reporters, Haroon said it was not true that the organisation was on the verge of bankruptcy, adding the PIA was meeting all its obligations.
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