A cross- party group of UK’ parliamentarians have expressed concerns over the government continued reliance on the commercial operations of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) for the repatriation of British nationals in Pakistan. They called on the government to look for alternative options as they believe dependence on only PIA is no longer tenable.
Led by the Labour MP for Greater Gorton Afzal Khan, around hundred British members of both the houses wrote a second letter to the Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (FCO) Dominic Raab to apprise him about their constituent’s recent experience of PIA in Pakistan. The letter has also signed by prominent British- Pakistan leaders including Lord Nazir Ahmed and Lord Qurban Ahmed. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have already replied to their first letter with the details of government plan to bring back Britons from abroad including Pakistan.
The MPs said that the PIA cancelled numerous flights to the UK at the last minute after charging nearly £1000 per ticket. They further said that most British nationals have tittle trust in PIA to carry them home. It is deeply disappointing to see our government leaving British nationals at the hands of commercial enterprises capitalising on this crisis, the MPs protested. The MPs referring to the Foreign Secretary letter said you state that a number of flights were being organised by PIA over this week and the days ahead. However, they said they remained concerned that give the FCO estimate of the 6,000 British nationals in Pakistan who urgently want to return home, this small number of flights will be insufficient to carry them home.
The MP’s letter states “as a result of the mismanagement of PIA flights, many of our constituents are now facing significant financial difficulties. Airline fares are leaving many people thousands of pounds out of pocket and the endless flight cancellations mean the bills just keep coming. The MPs said welcome the availability of loan by the government but they said their many of their constituents does not go far enough. Short term loans to cover the immediate costs of returning home are helpful, but in the long-term these nationals will still have to pay for the chaotic mismanagement of PIA and British repatriation effort. They said they are aware that Pakistan government have now placed cap on the cost of plane tickets for the UK which they welcome. However, the MPS argue that it does little to ease the financial hardship of British nationals in Pakistan. With the new price cap, they said the cheapest ticket is still £700, which is significantly more than the price of a standard return ticket.
The letter also said that this week there has been substantial confusion over flights being cancelled after passengers had already checked into Islamabad airport. It appears as though hundreds of British nationals were left in the airport for over 24 hours waiting for flights. The mismanagement and miscommunication by PIA has become a source of real frustration and anxiety amongst the British nationals, the letters stated.
The MPs urge that all British nationals no matter where they are stranded deserve to be repatriated home as soon as possible in order to be reunited with their families in these difficult time. They called on government to urgently reconsider the ongoing dependence on commercial operations to repatriate its citizen out of Pakistan and look for alternative options.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan was approached to comment on the content of the British MPs regarding the airline, he told Daily Times that PIA sought special permissions from the government to operate these flights on humanitarian grounds. These are not regular flights and mostly would operate one way. The cost of operations for these flights are really high and can be best called as charters. He said these flights are for those people who have extreme urgent need to travel otherwise flight operations to and from Pakistan is suspended. Khan said that PIA understands that demand is high and we have to adjust as many people as possible, which is a challenge for us as well. PIA is not making any profit from these operations, the whole purpose is to facilitate as many stranded people as possible as a way of national service, on which no other carrier stepped forward for. We are there for our valued customers wholeheartedly and sincerely, PIA spokesman added Unlike the MPs, some British-Pakistanis have appreciated the efforts of British High Commission Islamabad and Pakistani authorities for bring people home during the COVID-19 crisis. Atifa Shah, a renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist in her twitter message said “Excellent Christian Turner and Sayed Z Bukhari, you’ve both been excellent, but a special shout out to Fouzia Younis for all her hard work behind the scenes trying to resolve these issue so eloquently whilst dealing with immense unprecedented pressure”.
Sarah Alvi, a Freelance Journalist tweeted “Special flight from Karachi arrived at Heathrow moments ago. Thanks PIA for the impeccable service onboard and all the safety measures at the Jinnah International Airport Karachi.
Similarly British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner on Friday called on federal minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan to discuss the repatriation operation to the UK. The Minister assured Dr Turner of full support in accommodating all the stranded UK nationals in Pakistan.
