DESPARDES NEWS MONITOR — The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) financials took several hits during the period July 2016 thru June 2017 and the mandated audit report was withheld due to ‘missing information’.
The one-time ‘Great People to Fly With’ national carrier flew dozens of ‘passenger empty’ flights over the period while continuing to suffer huge financial losses. Even the prestigious Hotel Roosevelt (landmark building in Manhattan, NY) posted net losses which were higher than it suffered the preceding year.
The published audit report for the year– prepared and released in 2019, indicate there was a loss of Rs48 billion compared to the preceding year’s loss of Rs45 billion.
The audit report says the issue of ‘passenger empty flights’ has been declared an act of negligence in the official documents.
According to the report cited by Pakistan Today and Geo News, as many as 46 flights were operated from Islamabad Airport during the period July 2016 thru June 2017 –with no passengers on board.
The report reveals the national flag carrier suffered a loss of Rs180 million by operating 46 flights without passengers.
It said 36 flights on Hajj and Umrah routes were also operated without passengers, and no inquiry was initiated despite the administration being informed about the matter.
Despite under obligation to publicly declare its quarterly and annual financial reports, PIA had not declared its financials since 2016 owing to missing information, and when it finally published the report (of 2017) after a lapse of two years– the report invalidate the national flag carrier’s claims of increase in revenue.
Meanwhile, the audit statement of FY2018 has not been cleared by auditors yet, which is why it has not been made public.
Once all the preceding years’ losses are brought forward, the incremental revenue enhancement announced this year may become negligible, and the net losses’ number carried forward would add to the PIA hemorrhage.
Sustained denting (wittingly or unwittingly) of PIA’s business operations character and human resources capabilities stunted even its break-even performance curve year-to-year, some experts in the field said.
