The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the aviation secretary, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) among others on a petition seeking a judicial review of the national flag carrier’s affairs for its failure to provide a safe environment to travellers.
The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan said in their petition that the PIA and the CAA have visibly destroyed the country’s aviation industry through their mismanagement and corruption, and without any accountability and measure of responsibility towards the people.
Their counsel said that right to commute is an inalienable right of every citizen being akin to the right to life and trade, so the PIA being the national flag carrier is obliged to render these services because it was founded and funded by the state, so any failure in rendering these services directly impinges on the constitutional rights of citizens.
He said that majority of the families of the victims of the May 22 PIA plane crash in Karachi are impecunious and of poor financial standing, with some of them having lost their breadwinners, but the legal heirs of the victims are neither in a position to procure costly legal remedies nor do they possess the requisite knowledge to challenge the actions of the respondents in a court of law.
He added that a judicial review is required into the affairs of the PIA and the CAA, which are primarily responsible for causing losses of millions of rupees to the national exchequer besides the losses of lives and properties of hundreds of passengers.
He also said the Aviation Division and the CAA have time and again turned a blind eye to the mismanagement and maladministration of the PIA, which is not only unlawful but also shameful for the country.
He added that the PIA being a public owned company managing public funds has a duty to protect its assets, including its fleet, which is acquired from the taxpayers’ money, and in mismanaging its affairs that have led to devastating crashes, the PIA and the CAA have failed to safeguard the people’s lives and properties.
The counsel said that through the CAA Bill 2016 the Aviation Division would have established a Safety & Accident Investigation Board, allowing for a more stringent and transparent investigation into the PIA’s affairs and possibly averting plane crashes.
He added that since the bill had been abandoned by the Aviation Division, no proper board or authority existed to conduct constant surveillance and regulation of the airline. He requested the court to declare that the PIA and the CAA have failed to act diligently in accordance with the relevant laws to provide the people safe, efficient, adequate, economical and properly coordinated transport services.
He said the private aircraft manufacturer and owners of the Airbus have breached their duty of care towards the PIA flight PK-8303 crash victims and the passengers flying with the airline by negligently entrusting the national flag carrier with aircraft manufactured and owned by them. He requested that the court restrain them from selling or leasing their aircraft to the PIA.
He also requested that the SHC order the Aviation Division to apprise the court of the status of the CAA Bill, with further appropriate directions towards its expeditious enactment by the National Assembly.
He further requested that the court constitute a judicial commission with the mandate of placing before the court a determination on the mismanagement of the affairs of the PIA, and its failure to operate and maintain commercial flight services as mandated by the relevant laws. He sought orders for the Aviation Division to place before the court the final reports on all of the accidents involving the PIA.
He also sought a declaration that the compensation cap of Rs5 million provided in Rule 21 of the Carriage by Air Act 2012 is discriminatory, and direct the Aviation Division to revise the compensation limits under Rule 21 and other provisions relating to compensation in line with the Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air 1999.
After the preliminary hearing of the petition, the SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar issued notices to the PIA and the CAA among others for them to file their comments within four weeks.
