Humiliation for Pakistan as PIA Plane Seized in Malaysia Due to Non Payment of Dues

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has once again been hit with a devastating blow, as one of its planes was seized in Malaysia for non payment of dues. The Malaysian authorities seized the Boeing 777 aircraft of PIA at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, on a court order issued on the request of the lessor over the failure to pay the lease on the aircraft for an extended period of time. The move has caused a great deal of humiliation to the already-struggling national airline, and has left many passengers stranded.

This is not the first time that PIA has been hit with such a blow. Earlier this year, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended PIA's authorization to operate in European Union (EU) member states for six months due to serious concerns over air safety. This caused PIA to suspend all of its flights to and from Europe, causing significant financial losses.

The latest event is a further indication of how poorly the national airline is being managed. PIA has been suffering losses for years, with debts and liabilities running into billions of dollars. To make matters worse, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aviation industry and has made PIA's financial situation even worse.

• In 2019, PIA's total liabilities amounted to approximately $2.65 billion, with its debt-to-equity ratio at an alarming 12.5.
• In the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21, PIA suffered a net loss of approximately $81 million.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PIA's losses for the financial year 2020-21 are expected to cross $500 million.

Conclusion

1. It is imperative that the government of Pakistan takes urgent steps to address the financial crisis at PIA.
2. PIA's management should be held accountable for the airline's poor performance and should be replaced with competent individuals who can turn the airline around.
3. PIA must adopt a customer-centric approach, improve its service quality and enhance its safety standards to win back the trust of its customers and regain its position as a leading national airline.

In conclusion, the latest incident of PIA's plane being seized in Malaysia due to non payment of dues is yet another indication of the poor state of the national airline. The government of Pakistan must take immediate action to address the financial crisis at PIA and overhaul its management. PIA must also take steps to improve its service quality and safety standards to regain the trust of its customers and reestablish itself as a reliable and reputable national airline.