Pakistan to hold bidding to sell PIA after govt fails to secure offers

Pakistan will hold bidding on December 23 to sell its state-owned carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA. The loss-making airline is being privatised under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program that requires the federal government to reform or divest struggling state enterprises. A previous effort to sell PIA last year was abandoned after the government failed to secure a sufficiently attractive offer.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with corporate entities and company representatives involved in the process, according to a press release shared by state broadcaster PTV News. “PIA’s bidding will take place on December 23, which will be broadcast live on all media. We are ensuring transparency and merit in the privatisation process,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Sharif said the process was moving “smoothly” and argued that privatisation would help restore the airline’s “lost prestige,” bring it in line with modern aviation standards, and support the revival of PIA’s global flight operations — a step he called essential for overseas Pakistanis.

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If completed, the deal would represent Pakistan’s first major privatisation in almost two decades.

Earlier this year, Pakistan International Airlines resumed direct flights to Europe following a decision by the European Union’s aviation safety agency to lift a four-year ban over safety standards.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif inaugurated the twice-a-week flights to Paris and vowed that PIA will expand its operations to other European countries soon.

The flight from Islamabad was fully booked with more than 300 passengers, the airline said.

Asif said in a speech that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency had imposed the ban on PIA’s operations in Europe because of an “irresponsible statement” by a former aviation minister.

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The curb on PIA was imposed in 2020 after 97 people died when a PIA plane crashed in Karachi in southern Pakistan. Then-Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an investigation into the crash found that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams. A government probe later concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error.

With inputs from agencies