ISLAMABAD: Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Wednesday feared that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)’s losses might reach up to Rs6 billion by the end of this month.
The national flag-carrier had so far suffered a loss of Rs4 billion after coronavirus cases started emerging in the country, the minister said in a statement .
He said the Aviation industry all over world had faced immense losses due to spread of the virus. “Similarly, PIA has also incurred a loss of Rs 4 billion till March 25.”
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had incurred a loss of Rs600 million during a period from March 1-15, which was expected to increase, Khan said.
He said the national flag-carrier had organised 27 special flights to bring back 8,824 stranded Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia, who had gone there to perform Umrah.
He said as many as 40 Pakistanis from Doha and 100 from Dubai were also brought back, who had stuck there because of the negative corona test requirement.
The minister said Pakistan was already passing through difficult economic conditions, but this virus multiplied its economic hardships.
He appealed to all segments of the society including media to support the present government in its fight against the virus, which had badly affected even the strongest economies of the world.
