Pakistan: National Carrier Airlines Cancels 48 Flights Due To Unavailability Of Fuel

A spokesperson for PIA told Pakistani news outlet The Dawn that the flights were cancelled due to a limited fuel supply for its daily flights and operational issues. The departure of some flights had been rescheduled, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that 13 domestic flights and 11 of them on international routes were cancelled due to unavailability of fuel. Twelve other flights were delayed, he stated.

According to the PIA, the passengers of the cancelled flights were shifted to alternative flights. It also advised passengers to contact the PIA customer care, PIA offices or their travel agent before arriving at the airport to check their flight status following this decision.

For Wednesday (today), the PIA cancelled more than a dozen flights -- 16 international and eight domestic flights -- while some flights were expected to be delayed.

WHY THE FUEL SHORTAGE?
The fuel shortage for PIA aircraft was caused by the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) suspending its supply over unpaid dues. The future of the airline, which is already on the brink of collapse and heading towards privatisation due to accumulated debts, remains uncertain.

The situation has been further exacerbated by the Pakistan government's refusal to provide Rs 23 billion in support for operational expenses, despite the national airline's request.

The PIA requires Rs 100 million a day to pay for fuel from PSO, but with the latter demanding advance cash payments only, the airline is unable to meet this requirement, leading to more potential flight cancellations in the future.

This latest development came as Pakistan is facing one of the worst economic crises in its history, along with political instability. Inflation in the country is currently at a record high of 21.3 per cent.

The Pakistani rupee has lost about half of its value against the US dollar in the past year. The country's foreign exchange reserves are at a critically low level of about $10 billion.

In September, petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan crossed the Rs-300 mark for the first time in the history of the country. The caretaker government, under Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) on Thursday by Rs 14.91 and Rs 18.44 per litre.

With the hike, the price of petrol stood at Rs 305.36, while the diesel price reached Rs 311.84.

Pakistan also witnessed massive protests over soaring electricity bills. Protests at multiple locations, including Multan, Lahore, Karachi and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) saw massive demonstrations where people burned their bills. They also confronted officials from power distribution companies.

The cash-strapped nation also saw a record number of over 8 lakh people leaving the country within the first six months of the year. Among them were a lakh highly trained professionals, hinting at a huge brain drain from the country facing a crumbled economy and plagued by Islamic fundamentalism.