PIA loans and losses surge to Rs. 300 billons

22 Feb, 2017

KARACHI: 

Pakistan International Airlines PIA, the nation's premier flagship organisation is under heavy debts that is virtually crippling the national asset.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) told the federal government on Tuesday that the repayment of accumulated loans is the “biggest challenge” to the national carrier.

“The biggest challenge being faced by PIA is the repayment of legacy loans,” PIA CEO Bernd Hildenbrand said in a briefing to Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan at the airline’s head office.

PIA has accumulated losses and liabilities worth over Rs300 billion. These include over Rs186 billion worth of bank loans, Rs40 billion dues of Civil Aviation Authority, over Rs13.5 billion dues of Pakistan State Oil and over Rs4.5 billion of the national exchequer. 

PIA pays around Rs4.4 billion on account of loans and mark-up every month, which is a major monthly expense.

“PIA plans to add more narrow and wide-body aircraft to its fleet this year.

 It plans to add more destinations in the months to come and increase frequency on existing profitable routes,” a statement quoted the CEO as saying. “Our goal is to reach a stage of operational breakeven as soon as possible.”