While talking to the reporters, Mehtab Abbasi, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Aviation, revealed that just last year the national airline incurred a loss of 40 billion rupees. Sharing his vision with media for a revival of the PIA, he also said that the national airline suffered losses of 400 billion rupees in last decade. Calculating the annual and decade-long losses, Abbasi said nothing about steps the advisor was taking at present to minimize the losses.

While the public opinion is divided on whether the government should consider privatization an option, Abbasi opines if the government gives one-time bailout package of $2bn so that loans could be paid off. Mr. Abbasi needs to be reminded that it is not the loans of the airline, which has placed the organization on the decline.

It will really help the advisor if he looks into the poor management and political interference in the affairs of the national airline. Hiring unqualified and ill-equipped staff for technical and professional jobs, overstaffing, multiple layers of management, inadequate market strategies are some of the factors that are responsible for the decline of the service mentioned above.

Instead of relying on financial assistance from the government, it is better to show some improvements first. PIA needs some really radical solutions. For instance, financial restructuring, recruitment of a team of dedicated professionals who have no vested interest and association with the organization and downsizing of the staff as PIA has one of the highest employee per plane ratio, which stands at almost 700 employees per aircraft in comparison to Emirates which has around 220.

Before putting technical and management affairs of the organization in order, it is not fair to demand the government for a bailout package. Reforms from within will help PIA saving huge amounts of money.