*KARACHI: *Revenues of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) increased 30% in first six months of 2019, the Aviation Division said in its report.
“From January to June of the current calendar year, the national flag carrier achieved a breakthrough,” the Aviation Division remarked.
During the first year of the current government, the Aviation Division devised a business model to drag PIA out of the depths of accumulated losses worth Rs450 billion, according to the report.
The improvement in revenues came from the introduction of new profitable routes including Sialkot-Sharjah, Islamabad-Doha, Lahore-Muscat, Sialkot-Paris, Sialkot-Barcelona, Multan-Sharjah, Peshawar-Sharjah and Peshawar-Al-Ain, said the report.
The current government also initiated cost-reduction measures to narrow down losses of PIA. The airline played its part by bringing two grounded aircraft into service, which were expected to add more than Rs6 billion to its revenues annually.
The Aviation Division also framed the National Aviation Policy 2019 under which it issued tourism promotion and regional integration (TPRI) licences to steer tourism and regional connectivity, the report highlighted.