ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday directed the Ministry of Privatization and Civil Aviation Division to initiate the process of privatization of 26 percent shares of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) through an open and transparent manner to make the airline competitive and service-oriented.
While chairing a meeting on PIA at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that the government is fully committed to reform and restructure all ailing state enterprises, including PIA.
The Prime Minister directed the management of the airline to focus on their operational efficiency, cut down their wasteful expenses and promote their qualified professionals for meeting the modern day competitive environment in the air transport industry.
Earlier while reviewing the performance of the PIA, the Prime Minister expressed his deep concern over mismanagement in the affairs of PIA and was saddened to observe that the airline has not come up to the expectations of the people.
The Prime Minister was also briefed about the problems and issues confronting the PIA which included its declining service standards, lack of reliability and punctuality, pilferage and theft, lack of quality manpower, training and job rotation, ageing fleet, overstaffing and high loans resulting in high finance cost.
The PM Nawaz directed the management of the PIA to cut down on their losses in the short term in order to make it a viable entity for privatization.
