PIA makes payment to PSO for more 20 flights' fuel

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has made payments to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to obtain jet fuel for its 20 more flights, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to PSO sources, 20 flights will be fueled by three o'clock tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

The PSO sources added that after 3:00 pm the next payment will be made to PSO for further required flights to be fueled.

Earlier, the flight operations have been restored partially after resuming the fuel supply by the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on a limited basis.

 PIA flight operations to Jeddah from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Multan have been started again.  A flight from Islamabad also left for Riyadh after a delay of 12 hours.

The flight from Multan to Jeddah was also delayed by more than eleven hours.

The partial resumption of flights was made possible by the efforts of the airline management, said the spokesperson PIA.

Earlier, the PIA flight operation came to a complete halt after the PSO refused to supply fuel to it because of the former’s failure to make the payment.

 Under the agreement, the PSO had promised the airline that it would supply fuel to it in lieu of Rs100 million per day.

However, the airline could not make the payment as the banking circle was closed following which the PSO stopped the supply of fuel.

However, PIA’s management was trying to get in touch with the PSO officials for the resumption of fuel supply till last reports came in.

On the other hand, a spokesman for the national flag carrier has expressed the hope that the flight operation will resume in the evening.

Earlier on Sunday, 24News had reported that as many as 25 PIA’s domestic flights were cancelled.

As many as 16 flights of the airline heading to different destinations from Karachi could not take off.

Similarly, Islamabad-Karachi flights, PK 300, PK 308, PK 340, PK 301 and PK 369 also had to be cancelled.

Two Lahore-Karachi flights PK 303 and PK 307 failed to take off either.

 Likewise, three flights, heading from Karachi to Lahore, PK 302, PK 304 and PK 306 which were to leave today also had to be cancelled.

 Moreover, six flights of the national flag carrier from Karachi to Gwadar, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad and vice versa had to be cancelled as well.

 

One flight from Sialkot to Muscat and another from Muscat to Sialkot could not depart either.

 

Four flights heading from Lahore and Islamabad to Quetta and vice versa were cancelled too.

 

Similarly, two PIA flights from Islamabad to Jeddah and vice versa and one flight PK 288 which was to leave Doha for Islamabad was also cancelled.