Demolition of buildings becomes bone of contention between PIA, CAA

PESHAWAR: The planned demolition of the buildings housing the offices of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) engineering staff has become a bone of contention between the engineers and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as the former refused to vacate the buildings and the latter disconnected power, water and telephone services to these offices here at the Bacha Khan International Airport.

The PIA engineering staff has taken the stance that they should be provided alternative place to shift and continue their routine operations while the CAA officials claimed to have arranged sophisticated container offices and provided a place to the PIA engineers at the airport.

The CAA has accused the engineering staff of creating hurdles in the planned demolition of the buildings to promote their vested interest.

The CAA insisted that the plan to demolish the old buildings on the left side of the airport’s main terminal building and adjacent to the mosque was aimed at facilitating the movement of the passengers and other people at the facility.

The PIA employees expressed concern over the development and expressed inability to continue the flight operations at the airport. “The CAA officials have disconnected power, water and also telephone services to the offices of PIA engineering staff,” said an employee. “We would not be able to communicate with our top officials or to request for dispatching a new part if an airplane developed a fault as we have no means of communication after our landline services were suspended. Our activities have come to a halt,” he added.

He said the CCA should have given the PIA engineering some time to shift the equipment to the temporarily arranged container offices to continue their routine operations.

Amir Mahboob, spokesperson for CAA, confirmed that services to the buildings had been disconnected.

He said they had time and again conveyed to the engineering staff to vacate the buildings, but the reminders fell on deaf ears.

He said he had discussed the issue with the chief executive officer of the PIA during the opening ceremony of the Islamabad International Airport and he had agreed to the demolition of these buildings. “He told me to demolish these buildings in 24 hours,” he claimed.

He said the CAA had also arranged five air-conditioned, state-of-the-art containers for the engineering staff to shift and continue their flight operations. “What else can we do if they are not willing to vacate these buildings,” he argued.

The flight operations of PIA at the Bacha Khan International Airport may be suspend if the issue is not resolved at the earliest, warned a PIA employee while requesting anonymity.