Lay-offs in the airline

This refers to the letter ‘PIA’s revival’ (Nov 22) by Iftikhar Mirza. There is no denying that PIA is overstaffed. But, why should taxpayers be burdened with billions of rupees that will be paid under the voluntary scheme to around 3,500 unwanted employees? The global airline industry has been badly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. Many airlines have laid off their employees to save costs. In some cases, the salaries of the existing personnel have been slashed by as much as 50 percent. PIA has additionally been hit from the ban by the European Union and its fleet is idle.

Another proposal by its management is the privatisation/outsourcing of certain key areas like engineering and maintenance, technical ground support, flight kitchen, etc. The divestment of such critical functions in a small airline like PIA is not feasible. This particular step will increase cost and loosen control and flexibility in scheduling operations.

Arif Majeed

Karachi