PIA incurring Rs 6bn loss on a monthly basis, PM told.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Air Marshal Arshad Malik Monday apprised Prime Minister Imran Khan that in the prevailing situation, the national flag carrier was running into loss of around Rs 6 billion on monthly basis.

A sum of Rs 24 billion was being spent yearly on the payment of salaries to its 14,500 employees alone, the PIA CEO briefed the prime minister, who chaired a meeting on the reforms and restructuring of the national airline.

The CEO also apprised the prime minister about the progress regarding investigation into the Karachi plane crash, handing over of bodies to their bereaved families and payment of compensation amount to the heirs of plane crash victims, the PM Office Media Wing in a press release said.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz, Advisor on Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Lt Gen (retd) Asim Salim Bajwa and other senior officials.

During the meeting, a time line for restructuring of the PIA and a comprehensive roadmap over reforms and implementation was also submitted before the prime minister.

Addressing the meeting, the prime minister said due to the coronavirus pandemic, the country's economy was facing difficulties. He said the people had to bear the burden of billions of rupees loss on monthly basis suffered by the state-owned entities.

He said with regard to the current situation, it was imperative to expedite restructuring and reforms process in the PIA, which had been running into billions of rupees loss...