Missing baggages: PIAC paid Rs 20.16 million in 2013

The Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) paid Rs 20.16 million on account of missing passengers' baggages in 2013. According to an audit report regarding accounts of the PIAC for the year 2013 that was presented before Parliament revealed that the PIA has some discrepancies beyond control as core phenomena.
The matter of missing baggage was reported to the management but no response came in this regard. The report claimed that there was much mishandling during 2013 die of ATR aircrafts/narrow bodied operations where baggages were left behind, which resulted in additional cost paid against settlement of mishandled baggages added by surface transportation expenses at station level.
Personal Policy Manual states that any employee who causes or attempts to cause any loss or loss of revenue to the corporation shall be liable to reimburse loss and will also be liable to disciplinary action including dismissal from services. According to the report, the passengers coming from Manchester lost their baggage causing the highest amount of loss to PIAC that stood at Rs 13.10 million.
Flights coming from London caused Rs 2.59 million of loss, from Rome the missing luggage caused Rs 1.96 of loss, from Paris the missing baggage caused Rs 1.14 of loss, from New Delhi the missing luggage caused Rs 0.86 of loss and from Toronto the missing luggage caused Rs 0.51 of loss to PIAC accounts.
As per audit report, the reason behind this loss was some uncontrollable factors such as hampering transportation of the baggage by other carriers including wrong tagging of baggage, Error/mix loading on multi sector flights, tag less baggage/detached tag baggage. Non serviceability of conveyer belts, responsibility of which lies with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), bulk offloading and left behind baggage. However, the responsibility of the airline to check the passengers along with their baggage to safely deliver it to the final destination lies with the expected customer services.
The audit report also claimed that warning letters were initiated from head office against irresponsible staff and officers which were on duty and few terminations were also recorded. The report has also been discussed in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the recommendations and directives in this regard.