International Desk: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has cancelled 48 flights due to unavailability of fuel. The cancellations have affected both domestic and international flights, and have caused widespread disruption to travel plans.
Reportedly, the fuel shortage for PIA aircraft was caused by the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) suspending its supply over unpaid dues. According to the DAWN, 13 domestic flight and 11 international flights were cancelled on Tuesday, while 12 flights were delayed due to the non-availability of fuel.
In addition to the domestic flights, some of the cancelled flights were scheduled to fly to Dubai, Muscat, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait. PIA claimed that the passengers of the cancelled flights were accommodated on alternative flights.
Meanwhile, the PIA which is an public enterprise, will soon be privatized as it has accumulated hundreds of billion of rupees in loses and arrears, and is on the verge of collapse.
The government has also declined the airline’s request to provide Rs 23 billion ($ 76 million) in support for operational expenses. Besides other financial needs for repairing parts and maintaining aircraft, the airline needs Rs100 million a day to pay for fuel from PSO, which canceled supply this week over Rs 1.4 billion in unpaid dues.