Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) continues to struggle with operational efficiency as several planes are grounded due to lack of spare parts.
Of the 34 aircraft in PIA’s fleet, 17 are still temporarily out of service.
The situation is particularly dire for the airline’s Boeing 777 fleet, which is down to 7 of 12 aircraft. In addition, 7 of the 17 Airbus A320 aircraft were inoperable.
The airline’s small ATRs are not spared, with only 2 of the 5 aircraft currently operational.
Landing aircraft are affected by the lack of critical components such as engines, landing gear, auxiliary power unit (APU) and other critical parts.
Many components of the decommissioned aircraft were reused for use in other aircraft over the years, compounding the shortage.
The landing of this plane had a significant financial impact on the national carrier and PIA suffered losses of millions of dollars.
The delay in procuring the required spare parts caused disruptions in PIA’s flight operations, including the delay of the airline’s scheduled Paris flight services.
Earlier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced that it will resume flights to Europe on January 10 following the European Union’s decision to lift the airline’s four-year ban. The announcement was made in a statement released by the airline on Saturday.
PIA confirmed that the first flight will depart from Islamabad to Paris on January 10. Initially, the airline will operate a twice-weekly service scheduled on Mondays and Sundays, and plans to increase the frequency gradually.
