ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Tuesday accused the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SEAP) of deliberately attempting to derail the national carrier’s ongoing privatisation process by suspending aircraft clearances under the guise of safety concerns a move that brought flight operations to a standstill and stranded thousands of passengers.
The main objective of this movement is to sabotage the ongoing process of PIA’s privatisation, which is now in its final stages, PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said in a statement, adding that the airline viewed the action as a deliberate attempt to create chaos and pressure the administration.
PIA’s operations were severely disrupted on Monday after SEAP engineers halted the issuance of airworthiness certificates, grounding several aircraft and triggering mass cancellations across domestic and international routes. The unprecedented suspension, which SEAP claimed was due to critical safety issues, left hundreds of passengers stranded at major airports in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
The spokesperson rejected SEAP’s justification, asserting that the group has no legal standing and that invoking safety concerns was a pretext for an illegal collective strike. He stressed that PIA falls under the Essential Services Act, making any such strike or work stoppage a punishable offence.
The disruption comes at a sensitive time for the airline, as the government pushes ahead with the long-delayed privatisation process a key condition of Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF bailout. The sell-off would mark the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades, with four major companies Arif Habib Limited, Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC), Air Blue, and Lucky Group having expressed interest in acquiring stakes in PIA.
Khan said that PIA had initiated legal action against all individuals and groups involved in or supporting the strike. All such elements will be dealt with according to the law, he warned, adding that the airline was already arranging alternative engineering support from other service providers to resume flight operations.
By Tuesday evening, several delayed flights including PK-245 (Islamabad–Dammam) and PK-761 (Islamabad–Jeddah) were successfully dispatched. Other routes such as PK-747 (Lahore–Madinah), PK-233 (Islamabad–Dubai), and PK-755 (Sialkot–Riyadh) also resumed after long delays. The airline confirmed that five flights had to be cancelled, though affected passengers were offered alternative travel options.
PIA’s operations are moving steadily towards restoration, Khan said, noting that schedules were gradually returning to normal as substitute technical teams were deployed.
The latest crisis underscores the deep operational and financial troubles facing the national carrier, which has struggled with mounting losses, management disputes, and political resistance to reform even as the government seeks to transform PIA into a viable, privately-managed enterprise.