PIA records Rs9.35bn operational profit
ISLAMABAD: After years of financial freefall, the National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) recorded an operational profit of Rs9.35 billion and a net profit of Rs26.20 billion – after deferred tax adjustments – for the 2024 financial year, marking a significant turnaround from persistent past losses.
In a written reply to questions asked by lawmakers, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif detailed the financial contours of PIA’s performance.
The airline, he said, spent Rs198.8 billion over the year, with fuel (Rs75.58 billion), aircraft maintenance (Rs17.48 billion), and landing and handling charges (Rs29.42 billion) comprising the lion’s share.
Salaries and wages absorbed Rs17.24 billion, lease rentals Rs7.9 billion, depreciation Rs12.1 billion, and aircraft insurance Rs5.4 billion. The balance went to various passenger service and selling expenses, among other costs.
Despite these outlays, the airline’s bottom line improved, even as its total liabilities – both domestic and international – remained a hefty Rs187.28 billion. Auditing of the year-end financial statements was jointly undertaken by Grant Thornton and BDO Chartered Accountants. Zeb Jaffar, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence said that PIA had been operating in the black since March 2024. She laid blame for the airline’s prior reputational woes on Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s – a former minister for aviation – “irresponsible” remarks, which, she claimed, had inflicted damage both reputational and financial. She said those challenges appear to be easing, as PIA has resumed flights to Europe – including Paris – after successful talks with the EU Aviation Safety Agency, while negotiations with British and Turkish aviation authorities remain underway.
Expansion remains a government priority, she said, noting the airline is eyeing new routes across the Middle East and North Africa in pursuit of sustainable profitability.
“Efforts to revitalise the national flag carrier are underway, and their results will become more visible in the coming months,” said Jaffar.
Back on the ground, another institution struggling with management is the Parliament Lodges – official residences for Members of the National Assembly and Senate.
During the session, a chorus of lawmakers decried what they described as squalid conditions, mismanagement, and a chronic lack of accountability in the lodges’ upkeep.
Mukhtar Ahmad Malik clarified that the Capital Development Authority (CDA), frequently blamed for the decline, merely implements budgets and allocations decided by the Parliament’s House and Library Committee.
Nonetheless, Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah conceded that the CDA’s performance had been “far from exemplary,” pointing to prior suspensions of senior officials for mismanagement. A staggering 51 MNAs, he noted, currently have no official accommodation. To address this, the government plans to outsource lodge facilities management on a probationary basis before considering a longer-term contract. Tendering will proceed following Planning Division approval.
Veteran Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Naveed Qamar endorsed the outsourcing move, suggesting that private management could improve service quality without increasing costs. MNA Noor Alam Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was less restrained, criticising the wasteful deployment of roughly 200 CDA staff and the misuse of amenities such as the gym, which he claimed is often accessed by non-members.
He also pointed to rent-paying legislators being treated shabbily compared to perk-enjoying employees. Other parliamentarians called for a fairer allotment process. MNA Syed Waseem proposed reallocating rooms from ministers now residing in the Ministers’ Colony to currently displaced MNAs.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry echoed concerns, noting that the long-delayed construction of additional housing – pending since 2008 – was essential to resolving the space crunch.
The deputy speaker wrapped up proceedings with a modest concession to order: janitorial services at the lodges are to be outsourced, in hopes of lifting at least one burden from the shoulders of Parliament’s increasingly disgruntled residents.—ZULFIQAR AHMAD & NAVEED BUTT
