Exorbitant prices being charged for UK flights despite govt promise

LONDON: The British High Commission alongside the government of Pakistan has planned multiple special flights to repatriate stranded British nationals in Pakistan but The News has discovered that exorbitant prices are being charged for these flights, further complicating the situation of over 10,000 such stranded persons.

Earlier, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari had announced that the maximum one-way fare from any location of Pakistan to London would be £765 and the maximum price for a flight to Manchester and Birmingham would be £750.

Despite these orders, travel agents alongside some officials of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) are charging much more to unsuspecting customers who are in desperate need to go back to their loved ones.

The passengers who had booked tickets for flights which got cancelled due to the airspace closure were promised that they would be adjusted in new flights. However, this has not been the case as the overwhelming majority of those passengers have been asked to book new tickets and have been left in uncertainty regarding the tickets they had already booked and paid for.

Mehboob Ahmed, who has been running a travel agency for over 30 years in London, said that he had been receiving several complaints from passengers who claimed that they were being charged significantly more than the price set by the minister for overseas Pakistanis.

He shared: "An elderly lady from Kilburn paid £1,500 for a one-way journey. This is double the price promised. Several other customers have been asked to pay a difference of around £750 as they had already possessed a ticket to fly on these special flights."

Mehboob Ahmed mentioned that in regular times, the price of a one-way ticket was close to £300-350 but even after the special flights had a double the price set by the government, the policy was not being abided by.

He said: "Three flights were going on 28th of March but the customers were asked to buy new tickets and then they were cancelled. The price was £1,200 for a return ticket. Some travel agents bought flights from PIA at £800 per flight, but sold it for upwards of £1,500 to the most desperate travellers. I've never seen anything like this."

A customer replied to Zulfiqar Bukhari on Twitter, saying: "Can't trust PIA one bit. My parents who are 70 years old, both at risk and take medication, are stranded in Pakistan, Islamabad. Had 2 PIA flights cancelled on the 28/03/20 and 05/04/20. They should have been put on a chartered flight! Emails sent..."

Another Twitter user said: "The problem is when I wanted to book certain agents held all the economy flights. I only had the choice to book the economy plus at Rs2.25lacks. 2 hours I booked, the other agents especially Gerrys released the economy seat at half the price. Now I’m stuck coz of ticket hoarding."

The News has seen bills from travel agents charging around £1,500 for a one-way flight to London.

Earlier, Pakistan Airlines Pilots' Association (PALPA) had issued directives to their members not to fly the special flights because of lax standards of procedures, but the government and PALPA reached an agreement. It was decided that flights would operate only "upon satisfaction of the captain" and that the airlines would "not be held responsible", according to the minutes of the meeting released. On PIA's website, bookings are open for regular flights from London to Lahore with a one-way fare of around £750. Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority said that all international flights to Pakistan would land in Islamabad, but according to travel agents, this rule only applied to the special flights which operated till 11 April.