
Pakistan International Airline (PIA) pilots are considering boycotting the flights over non-payment of salary even in the month of Ramzan, the country's ARY News reported on Tuesday. The PIA is the national flag carrier airline of Pakistan, which has been struggling to pay wages due to a cash crunch for months.
The PIA pay group of 5 to 10 officers including pilots and staff did not get their salaries because of no funds, the report said, adding that the pilots were disappointed as the government did not disburse salaries even in the month of Ramzan - which is a sacred month for Muslims.
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According to the report, Pakistan's primary tax administration body - the Federal Board of Revenue or FBR - deducted Rs 1.4 billion from the PIA accounts, and Rs 0.3 billion were submitted by the finance ministry through the PIA administration. The FBR is demanding to submit Rs 1.7 billion more tax money by next week.
The PIA employees had asked the government to not stop salary payments amid high inflation and in the holy month of Ramzan but their salary was kept on hold.
Pakistan is in the middle of an economic crisis due to a shortage of forex reserves, which has fallen to a multi-year low. Last month, UK-based Financial Times reported that the global air transport body had warned of an 'aviation crisis' in Pakistan as airlines were struggling to recover $290 million due to a severe financial crisis.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it had become "very challenging" for carriers to serve Pakistan as they struggled to repatriate their dues which were paid in dollars, according to FT. The global body, which represents some 300 airlines, said $290 million were stuck in Pakistan as of January up by almost a third since December.
"Airlines are facing long delays before they are able to repatriate their funds," Philip Goh, the IATA’s Asia-Pacific head, told FT. "Some airlines still have funds stuck in Pakistan from sales in 2022." He further said: "If conditions persist that make the economics of operation to a country unsustainable, one would expect airlines to put their valued aircraft assets to better use elsewhere."
The shortage of foreign currency has also hit the industries in Pakistan. Earlier this month, it was reported that almost all of Pakistan's 30 mobile phone assembly units had closed their operations as manufacturers had run out of raw materials due to import restrictions. Islamabad has restricted imports of a slew of products due to a shortage of forex reserves.