Karachi: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik has directed the airline’s officials to revise travel fares for facilitating Pakistanis stranded abroad amid the country’s going pandemic lockdown, a news source reported.
As per the publication, the PIA CEO ordered that the fare costs should be aimed at meeting the operational costs of the flights. A PIA spokesperson further informed that the PIA’s commercial department had also been directed to penalize those allegedly involved in overcharging Pakistani passengers stuck in foreign countries.
Meanwhile, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan held a meeting with PIA CEO Arshad Malik and discussed the relief operation aimed at helping stranded Pakistanis. The minister was informed that the PIA, apart from bringing Pakistanis back home, was also flying foreign citizens and expatriates back to their own respective countries.
The minister was also informed about the safety protocols implemented to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other critical aspects of the flights and fares involved in the operation. In addition, the PIA CEO took the opportunity to assure the minister that he would be investigating the claims that the national airline was charging high fares due to high operational costs.
