Fixing PIA

This refers to the letter, ‘The PIA mess’ (October 8) by G Zaman. Since there is no shortage of pilots in PIA, contracts of those who have reached the age of superannuation should not be extended. Pilots’ demands like raise in salaries and flight duty limitations of 10 hours in an age when world airlines are spending billions to buy expensive aircraft like B777 for long-range flights should never have been accepted.
Similarly, the government and the aviation division should ensure that top officials with blatant conflict of interests such as owning travel agencies or companies involved in procurement or serving as sales agents of aircraft manufacturers are not appointed in the national airline. PIA should either be run as a service-oriented industry or shut down and re-established as an airline where strict discipline is enforced. It should be ensured that the best and most qualified people are retained with no room for political interference and zero tolerance for those involved in smuggling, money laundering and other irregularities.
Aneela Chandio
Sukkur