PIA suffered losses exceeding Rs8.5 billion due to the delayed sale of spare parts from grounded aircraft, as lawmakers questioned mismanagement, accountability, and rising liabilities at the national airline.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suffered losses amounting to Rs8.56 billion due to its failure to timely sell spare parts of grounded aircraft, officials told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, raising serious questions over mismanagement and accountability at the national carrier.
The disclosure was made during a PAC meeting in Islamabad, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, where the committee reviewed PIA’s audit report for 2023–24 along with broader financial, administrative, and privatization-related issues.
PIA officials informed the committee that delays in auctioning spare parts of grounded aircraft caused the airline cumulative losses of over Rs8.5 billion. They said spare parts worth Rs3.8 billion have so far been auctioned, while the remaining parts have been transferred to PIA’s buyer as part of asset disposal arrangements.
The committee was also told that six PIA aircraft are currently unfit for flight, while retired aircraft — including grounded planes and their components — have already been handed over to buyers.
During the meeting, officials also briefed lawmakers on two PIA-owned properties from which Rs2.61 billion was recoverable from the Sindh government. These properties have now been transferred to a holding company, leading the PAC to settle the related audit objections.
The committee also examined audit objections linked to the Ministry of Defence, including irregularities worth Rs12 million in procurements by the Airports Security Force (ASF). While the defence secretary acknowledged procedural lapses, he assured the committee that corrective measures had been taken.
Audit officials further revealed that PIA is facing audit objections worth Rs167 billion, including Rs131 billion in unpaid taxes and duties. According to the defence secretary, Rs115 billion of these liabilities have been shifted to the holding company formed for privatization purposes. PIA’s total liabilities, estimated at Rs688 billion, have also been placed under the holding company.
This prompted PAC members to question how the holding company would manage such massive obligations, to which officials said the Ministry of Finance had yet to take a final decision.
Committee member Shahida Begum termed PIA’s financial management “extremely poor,” while airline officials claimed several officers had already been dismissed over allegations of financial mismanagement.
Adding to concerns, audit officials disclosed that grounding eight aircraft had caused losses of Rs21 billion, with repair timelines ranging from 44 days to as long as 652 days. PAC members questioned the wide variation, while PIA officials cited disruptions during the COVID-19 period as the main reason for prolonged delays.
Despite assurances from PIA management, the committee’s discussions underscored a recurring concern: systemic negligence, delayed decisions, and weak oversight continue to drain the national airline’s finances — with accountability still unclear.
