Business

PIA on verge of collapse, says airline director

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Number of operational planes reduced to 16 from 23: official.
Boeing, Airbus suspend spare parts supplies to airline.
PIA planes stopped at Gulf airports over fuel non-payment.

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is on the verge of collapse as a top official of the national flag carrier has warned that flight operations are feared to be suspended by September 15 if emergency funds are not provided, Geo News has learnt.

Speaking to Geo News on Wednesday, a senior director of the national flag carrier said the number of operational planes had been reduced to 16 from 23 which led to the cancellation of several flights.

The official said aircraft manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — have also suspended spare parts supplies to the PIA over non-payment and the national airline was incurring losses worth millions of rupees daily due to limited flight operations.

The official also revealed that a PIA plane was stopped at Dammam airport while another four at Dubai airport over failure to pay for fuel.

The planes were allowed to leave on written assurance of the PIA, the official said, adding that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) restored PIA services after an emergency payment of $3.5 million was made.

The official warned that flight operations may be suspended by September 15 if Rs23 billion were not provided in emergency funds.

Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson said in a statement that all-out efforts were being made to save the flight operations from suspension.

A day earlier, sources told Geo News the PIA flight operations were severely affected due to a shortage of funds with a number of domestic and international flights being cancelled.

The insiders said the national flag carrier had requested the government for immediate provision of funds.

Moreover, the sources said the PIA employees had also not been paid their salaries as well.

PIA’s financial woes

On September 7, the PIA had said it grounded five out of its 13 leased aircraft with further prospect of grounding four additional planes due to the prevailing financial crunch.

The PIA had asked for an emergency bailout of Rs22.9 billion which was rejected by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).

The ECC also rejected the request for deferment of the payments of Rs1.3 billion per month, which PIA pays to FBR against FED and Rs0.7 billion per month which PIA pays to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) against embarking charges.

The airline had also warned that Boeing and Airbus might suspend the supply of spare parts by mid-September.

Last month, the FBR froze 13 PIA bank accounts due to non-payment of Rs8 billion in FED.

Business

Remittances Increase 25.2% in January 2025: $3.0 Billion Inflow

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

Remittances from Pakistani workers totalled US$3.0 billion in January 2025, representing a 25.2% increase from the previous year.

The cumulative remittances for July through January of FY25 were 20.8 billion dollars, up 31.7 percent from 15.8 billion dollars during the same period in FY24.

In January 2025, the United States of America contributed 298.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom contributed 443.6 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates contributed 621.7 million dollars, and Saudi Arabia contributed 728.3 million dollars.

Business

In January, Pakistan’s remittances rose by 25%.

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

In January 2025, Pakistan had a notable 25% growth in domestic remittances, with inflows hitting a record $3 billion for the month.

In a post on X, Khurram Shahzad, advisor to the Federal Finance Minister, revealed the most recent data, showing a sharp increase in remittances. The overall amount of remittance inflows from July 2024 to January 2025 was $20.8 billion, which is a 32% increase from the previous year.

According to official documents, the federal government’s non-tax revenue increased by Rs1,623 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year, from July to December, to Rs3,602 billion, up from Rs1,979 billion during the same period last fiscal year. The petroleum levy accounted for a significant portion of the increase, collecting an additional Rs76.64 billion, bringing the total petroleum levy revenue to Rs549 billion, up from Rs472.77 billion during the same period last year. Shahzad described the increase in remittances as a positive development for Pakistan’s economy and external accounts, and he projected that if this trend continues, annual remittances could surpass $35 billion by the end of the fiscal year.

Significant non-tax revenue was also generated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which reported a profit of Rs2,500 billion from July to December, a substantial increase from Rs972 billion during the same period the previous year.

Business

It is anticipated that the cost of electricity will drop by Rs2 per unit.

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

In an effort to help consumers, the government is attempting to lower electricity costs nationwide.

A task team has started negotiating with 45 more power facilities to reduce electricity rates, according to Ministry of Energy sources.

According to the plan, the profit margin of about 25 state-owned power plants will be cut from 19% to 13%, which will result in an electricity tariff drop of 50 paisa per unit. Moreover, rather than total production capacity, these power plants will now get compensation based on actual electricity generation.

It is anticipated that these actions will result in a Rs2 per unit drop in the overall electricity bill. The task force’s suggestions will probably be brought up for approval in the upcoming cabinet meeting.