Aging planes in the fleet of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have set off alarm bells ringing as most of the airline’s planes will not remain fit for flights in two years’ time, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.
PIA’s planes, on average, are 17 years old, while according to international standards, if a plane gets 19-year-old, it is no longer fit for flight, and a plane, less than 10 years old, is deemed as a new one.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has only two planes which are less than 10 years old.
Already the airline has grounded its 10 planes at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport which are between 15 and 20 years old.
Among those planes, there are four airbuses, five Boeing 777 and one ATR.
Two of PIA’s airbuses and three Boeing planes have gone beyond the age limit.
And due to the non-availability of funds and its likely privatization, the national flag carrier has done little planning to purchase new ones. It instead got two airbuses on lease.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif