Aviation woes

Never before in the history of modern aviation has the commercial aviation industry faced such a crippling crisis which has forced airlines to ground their fleet. Scores of airlines like Virgin Australia with a fleet of 120 aircraft and FLYBE, a British independent regional European airline with 63 operational aircraft have collapsed because of Covid-19. Passenger airline traffic is likely to pick up only after mid-2021, while in the interim period demand for cargo traffic will increase. PIA should refrain from increasing its passenger fleet and consider increasing its cargo capacity. The airline industry thrives basically on tourism and the trust and confidence of passengers who choose to fly on them. Unfortunately, tourism faces a decline of over 80 percent, while fear of infection grips passengers, who feel uneasy confined inside a metallic tube with recirculating air, making it an ideal environment for breeding a contagious pandemic. Heathrow London, once the busiest airport in world, has seen a decline of over 90 percent passengers. PIA the national airline of Pakistan, already in a perpetual state of crisis, is technically insolvent in the opinion of its auditors, with liabilities exceeding its total assets. It is facing an impending collapse, surviving only on state bail-out.

PIA needs to be made clean and lean, slashing top heavy management, and not inducting more high-paid executives with hardly any commercial aviation experience, which is essential in times of grave crisis following the Covid-19 infection. Times have changed from the days of Nur Khan. Salaries and employee strength must conform to the financial health. Financial and administrative discipline must be enforced along with transparency and auditing of the balance sheet of PIA and its subsidiaries. Flying half empty aircraft on domestic and international sectors will make matters worse. Marketing strategies and sales campaign must precede announcement of reopening of flights.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore