Concerns raised by eligible bidders for Pakistan’s national airline regarding the carrier’s ban by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are being taken seriously by the commission tasked with privatization, an official stated on Wednesday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has long recommended that the loss-making state-owned firms be privatized. This month, the country is hoping to reach an agreement with the fund for a longer-term bailout.
Six consortiums were pre-qualified by the privatization commission to go to bid in June, and by the following month, they want to have Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) fully privatized.
The commission’s secretary, Usman Bajwa, stated at a briefing that the body was attending to the issues raised by those who were pre-qualified by the government to bid on a share that ranged from 51 percent to 100 percent.
Previous administrations refrained from divesting the flag carrier due to the possibility of it being a very unpopular decision, but the nation needs to obtain additional IMF funds.
The PIA was prohibited by EASA from operating on its most profitable flights in Europe and Britain following a nearly 100-person death PIA plane disaster in Karachi in 2020 and an ensuing pilot license scam.
The government has informed parliament that the ban is still in place and has cost the airline approximately Rs40 billion ($143.73 million) in revenue annually.
