Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) currently operates only 17 to 18 planes while 16 aircraft are grounded.
Officials said the airline's aircraft previously had an average age of 21 to 22 years. The airline has received one Boeing Dreamliner, and officials stated that two aircraft are between seven and eight years old. Officials informed a committee that PIA's London flights had resumed on a daily basis, with services to Manchester and Birmingham expected to start.
Karachi-London flights are scheduled to begin in March 2027. The Secretary of the Privatisation Commission said passengers were being served meals on London flights and had responded positively to the biryani and pulao offered onboard. Sahar Kamran said private airlines were providing better services and operating flights on time, while PIA's performance remained unsatisfactory.
The Secretary of the Privatisation Commission clarified that PIA had received a sales tax exemption only on the purchase of new aircraft and said the airline had not been granted any other tax exemptions following its privatization.
Farooq Sattar said some ministries had submitted no answers, with the words “awaiting response” appearing against the relevant questions. Sahar Kamran said documents relating to matters under discussion had only been provided the previous evening. Kamran further said Parliament and its committees had effectively become inactive.
Sahar Kamran noted that no ruling coalition member attended and the meeting did not have the necessary quorum. Natasha Daultana objected to holding the meeting informally. Farooq Sattar said members were not even participating through Zoom and the committee could not proceed under those circumstances.
