Ever since the European Union and the United Kingdom suspended permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to enter its territories, the PIA has suffered a loss of a whopping Rs 250 billion.
PIA’s spokesperson said that the national airlines is bearing a monthly loss of Rs 9 billion due to the suspension of its flights to Europe and the UK. The spokesperson further said that the airlines will face losses of Rs 54 billion if the suspension continues.
The European Union Air Safety Agency had suspended flight operations of PIA for a period of six months from July 1 after it was revealed that the credentials of as many as 262 pilots were “dubious”.
Post the revelation, Vietnam had grounded all of the 27 Pakistani pilots flying their aircrafts due to concerns about their qualifications. All major airlines across the world have also begun to make Pakistani pilots redundant. Even the UK has decided to follow the EASA ban and barred any PIA flights to take off or land in the country.
Earlier in the month, the PIA had sacked 54 employees for having fake degrees, abusing drugs and for poor performance. Of the 54 employees sacked by the national carrier, seven were dismissed for tampered documents, eight for absence, two for taking bribe, four for immoral acts and one for being intoxicated.