Saudi Civil Aviation authorities have imposed a fine of Saudi riyal 10,000 on the Pakistan International Airlines for delay in operating flights between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Usually reliable sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that PIA's reply on the issue was rejected by Saudi authorities as PIA failed to convince Saudi authorities that the delays occurred due to technical failures.
The delays had occurred in PIA flights PK-743 and PK-744 operating between Karachi-Madina and Madina-Karachi on August 15. PIA failed to prove that this delay was due to technical reasons.
Saudi authorities had been very strict from the beginning of last Umrah season and had communicated to PIA that delays other than technical will be subjected to fine. Unfortunately for PIA, they picked PK 743/4 Karachi-Madina-Karachi flight which they found was delayed not because of technical reasons. Subsequently, however, Umrah and pre-Hajj operations were all marred with inadvertent delays.
PIA has transported 38,000 Hajis to Pakistan so far and flights delays on Monday operating between Jeddah-Peshawar, Jeddah-Islamabad, Jeddah-Quetta, and Jeddah-Karachi were all late by two to three hours, and in some cases more than 11 hours, causing severe mental distress to the pilgrims and keeping their relatives waiting for almost a full day at different airports in Pakistan.
Hajis had expressed grave concern over the handling of post-Hajj operations by the management as, out of 101 flights operated during post-Hajj operations, only four flights could take off on time. PIA management, fighting tooth and nail to prove that Hujjaj had been the major cause of delays, had flown a group of Pakistani journalists to Jeddah to show them the situation at Jeddah Hajj terminal due to which PIA operations were disturbed.
Hujjaj said that it was unfortunate that PIA management was blaming them for being the main cause of delays in flights, whereas, in fact, the management was the main culprit. The delays were due to the fact that the PIA aircraft are not receiving proper maintenance, with the result that they are getting faulty and being grounded, one by one. PIA management, in terms of aircraft maintenance, is deliberately ignoring this important aspect to benefit some vested interests in the airline, it appears.
Sources said that this is not the first time as constant delays in flights had occurred during the recent months. They recalled that PIA management was also issued warning at Dubai airport, following passengers' protest on the delivery of luggage, and the airport management had to call the security to handle the situation.
Blaming Hujjaj for late arrival at Jeddah Hajj terminal by high-ups does not meet the truth, keeping in view the fact that other flights, domestic as well as international, which had nothing to do with Hajj operations were also facing delays during last two months.
Following flights faced delays: PK 2008 JED-KHI, B743 was delayed by 10 hours; PK 4738 JED-KHI, B773, 1 hour; PK 2406 JED-ISB A743, 10 hrs; PK 2508, JED-ISB, B743, almost 6 hrs; PK-2206 JED-LHE, B743, 8 hrs; PK 2308 JED-LHE, B743 10 hrs; PK 2608, JED-PEW A31L, more than an hour; PK2180 JED-PEW, B772, more than 7 hrs; PK 2808 JED-UET, A31L more than 2 hrs; PK2908 JED-UET, A31L arrived after almost 2 hours' delay.
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