The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed serious concern over the sudden cancellation of flights to various cities by both public and private airlines operating in the country. FPCCI Vice President Aman Paracha, commenting on the situation, said that due to multiple issues facing the national airline, numerous flights have been cancelled or delayed, and this situation continues unabated.
Aman Paracha said that last month, as well, many flights of the national airline were cancelled or delayed due to a dispute between the airline’s management and aircraft engineers. He added that the cancellation of flights is causing severe mental distress to passengers. In addition, air traffic is being severely affected by fog, resulting in flight delays of several hours and creating serious difficulties for travelers.
He stated that prolonged flight departure delays have not only disrupted passengers’ schedules but also left countless families in a state of deep anxiety. Complaints have also been received from the business community that,t due to flight cancellations, they were unable to attend meetings in other cities and suffered financial losses as a result of missing important business engagements. Moreover, passengers arriving from different countries also faced severe mental anguish when their connecting flights were cancelled.
Despite flight cancellations, airlines do not provide refunds, claiming that refunds are against their policy, whereas globally, airlines are required to follow refund policies in accordance with established rules. Aman Paracha further said that sudden cancellations by private airlines are also causing severe hardship to passengers, and the lack of refunds is resulting in heavy financial losses for them.
He added that airlines raise ticket prices at will, exploiting passengers’ difficulties and imposing an additional financial burden. Instead of charging arbitrary domestic fares, both the national and private airlines should freeze ticket prices. He emphasized that the relevant authorities, along with the standing committees of the National Assembly and the Senate, should take special notice of this issue.
Aman Paracha also demanded that the Civil Aviation Authority review airlines’ poor performance and that the Chairman and Managing Director of PIA establish a clear system to facilitate passengers so that people are not left in a state of uncertainty during such situations.
He welcomed reports about the installation of e-gates at Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore airports, calling the move encouraging. He noted that e-gate facilities are available in many other countries and enable passengers to clear immigration more easily. The installation of e-gates in Pakistan, he said, would save passengers’ time at immigration counters.
