Pakistan International Airlines today partially resumed its flight operations following a six day-long countrywide strike against the government's plan to privatise the ailing national flag carrier as four "missing" union members returned home.
Workers' unions of PIA called for total strike on February 2 when three protesting workers were killed in clashes with police in Karachi, leading to grounding of all the flights.
Over 600 flights were cancelled and the already cash- starved company suffered huge losses, approximately billions of rupees, in addition to severe hardships to passengers.
According to PIA Spokesman Daniyal Gilani, flights have restarted and workers are coming back to join their duties.
PIA head offices in Karachi and Islamabad reopened today, following partial resumption of flight operations at various international airports across Pakistan, he said.
"Eighteen flights of the national flag carrier have reached their destinations since the resumption of the flight operations," Gilani said, adding that two PIA flights came from Saudi Arabia, bringing back stranded pilgrims.
The resumption of flights came after four members of the Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees (JACPIAE), "missing" for some days, returned home early this morning.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed the workers who have joined their duties.
PIA has some 19,000 employees. The government says the carrier is facing an accumulative loss of Rs 320 billion. It intends to give a 'golden handshake' to at least 50 per cent of its employees who it says were hired on political grounds.
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JAC spokesman Nasrullah Khan said though there was a partial resumption of flight operations, proper safety protocol has not been followed to put the planes in the air.
PIA engineers warned the management against operating flights without ensuring the aircraft's maintenance protocols as it may cause serious safety hazards.
The National Assembly on January 21 witnessed the passage of six bills, including one to convert the national flag carrier into a public limited company.
Under the bill, Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PIAC) is to be converted into a public limited company as Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited (PIACL).
The government plans to split the ailing PIA into two companies and sell the control of its core business to a global airline, but the opposition to the sell-off has been intense.
