Karachi: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suffered a loss of Rs 38 billion in the first three months of this year, which is 171% more than the previous month.
The financial results for the first three months of the year 2023 of the national carrier have been disclosed.
A PIA financial report revealed that the national carrier’s deficit was 171% higher in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2022.
The size of this loss is around 38 billion rupees.
During the first three months of this year, the national carrier managed to earn only 61 billion rupees.
PIA suffered a loss of Rs 21 billion due to the appreciation of the dollar against the rupee.
Apart from this factor, rising oil prices and interest rates also contributed to the loss of the national carrier.
Apart from this, due to negligence in PIA’s administrative affairs, its operating expenses increased by Rs 15 billion to Rs 43 billion.
The national flag carrier has lost lakhs of rupees due to bird strikes — 29 bird strike incidents were reported in the last five months at domestic airports alone.
According to PIA sources, 10 bird strikes have been reported so far in May this year alone.
Most of the incidents took place at Karachi and Lahore airports. Seven aircraft were damaged due to these attacks.
A few days ago, flight PK-310 — an Airbus-320 en route from Karachi to Quetta, hit a bird shortly after take-off.
After the bird hit, the captain of the plane contacted the control tower and asked for permission to land the plane again.
Later, the aircraft was moved to the hangar while the passengers were taken to the lounge.
During the examination, it was found that six of the plane’s engine blades were damaged.
According to PIA spokesperson, due to the delay in the repair of the affected aircraft, the passengers of the plane from Karachi to Quetta were sent through an alternative flight.
The management of the national airline has released the statistics of bird strikes during the last five months.
In May alone, 10 incidents were reported at airports in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Peshawar, Gilgit and Multan.
Most of the bird strike incidents — 16 in all — were reported at the Karachi and Lahore airports.
In the past five months, birds have also been hit by PIA planes in Jeddah and Bahrain.
Seven aircraft were destroyed by bird strikes, but in 22 of these incidents, the aircraft were not damaged.
