Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has seen significant disruption in its flight operations following a protest by its aircraft engineers, who have stopped issuing aircraft clearances over pay and safety concerns. Since Monday evening, international flights have been particularly affected, leaving passengers, including many Umrah pilgrims, stranded.
PK-302,At least 55 flights across Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad have been disrupted, with five cancellations reported. Among these, twelve international flights could not operate, causing major inconvenience. Domestic flights including Karachi-Skardu and Lahore-Karachi routes were also cancelled, while others, like Karachi-Lahore PK-302 faced delays of over 14 hours.
The Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) has stated that their members will not resume work until the PIA CEO addresses their grievances. The engineers claim they have not received a salary increase in eight years and are being pressured to approve aircraft clearances despite a shortage of spare parts, which they argue compromises passenger safety.
Meanwhile, PIA’s CEO has warned that strict action will be taken against engineers involved in halting operations, citing the Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, which prohibits strikes at the national airline. The airline spokesperson also claimed the engineers’ movement aims to sabotage PIA’s privatization process rather than address safety concerns.
The airline management is reportedly arranging alternative engineering support from other sources to resume flights shortly.
#PIAFlights #FlightDisruption #AircraftEngineers #PIAProtest #UmrahTravel #PakistanAirlines
