LETTER: On Friday August 7, 2020 I was on PIA Flight PK 208 on a journey from Dubai to Karachi. Its scheduled departure time was 1345 hours but the flight was delayed for one hour thirty minutes; the reason given was bad weather in Karachi. The flight finally left Dubai at 1515 hours but it was observed that the airplane was full to the last seat and there was no protection/social distancing to comply with SOPs in relation to Covid-19.

This PIA flight had made no arrangements to provide facemasks or sanitizers to passengers as compared to an Emirates flight which I took from Karachi to Dubai on Tuesday August 4, 2020. Emirates provided to each passenger a box consisting of three face masks, two pairs of gloves and a disposable pack of 6 sanitizers. The airline also ensured fair distance between passengers, leaving all the center seats in each row empty. Emirates provided breakfast and its one-way fare was PKR 35,000 whereas PIA's one-way fare that I paid was PKR 54,000. The reason given by crew members that due to Covid-19 food was not being served on any PIA flight but they had no answer to a question why they were not maintaining social distancing and complying with SOPs.

Be that as it may, I thank and congratulate the captain of Flight PK 208 for an excellent flight with no turbulence or jolts despite severe weather conditions in Karachi. The landing was amazing; no doubt Pakistani pilots are among world's best pilots.

MAHBOOB HUSSAIN MOON (KARACHI)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020