This refers to the letter ‘The fall of PIA’ (Jan 4) by G Zaman. The shifting of PIA’s head office from Karachi to Islamabad is being justified with the assumption that the capital city is the dominant aviation hub of the country and that Karachi doesn’t generate higher revenue from both passenger and air cargo operations. However, according to the statistics by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the above presumption is not true. During the year 2018-19 (before the pandemic), Karachi has the largest share in the actual volume of business activities generated at different airports. The Karachi airport saw more than six million passengers.

It may be noted that Karachi continues to be the major aviation hub of the country. Airline headquarters are generally located in the country’s commercial centre. The shifting of PIA headquarter involves enormous cost. This particular decision is not prudent at all.

Arif Majeed
Karachi

Published in The News, January 5, 2021