PIA Chairman has a herculean task to clean the mess that he has inherited. A PIA flight from Lahore to Paris via Milan somehow forgot to note, that a lady passenger who was supposed to get off at Charles De Gaulle Airport, slept through two hour transit stopover and all systems failed to take notice of this. When an aircraft lands at any airport, cabin crew purser hands over a list of passengers which includes their passport numbers and nationality, along with cargo manifest carrying details and tag numbers of cargo to be offloaded at station plus details of those in transit. In addition local traffic staff at Paris is required to count number of passengers disembarking at Paris and match it with numbers on Load Sheet/ Trim Sheet. The fact that all these systems failed only proves that PIA staff deputed at Paris are incompetent.
This is what happens when foreign postings are done on political recommendations instead of merit. During past few years, especially during tenures of Aijaz Haroon and Nadeem Yusuafzai, irregularities, bribes, nepotism and political recommendations were sole criterion for postings and recruitment. In fact those holding Pakistani nationality are discriminated against for foreign postings and instead these postings or recruitment as local employees at PIA’s international hubs in Europe, Canada and USA are done to facilitate individuals for immigration and welfare rather than being beneficial for PIA. Their foreign nationality gives them immunity from accountability by PIA rules, and they can seek refuge as foreign nationals. The most glaring abuses of power were postings of a Pakistani immigrants in Toronto who had never worked either in an airline, or in the capacity of work which they were to handle singularly in Canada, when a PIA stewardess and brother in law of a director were appointed at Toronto by the former Chairman and former MD of PIA. This incident involving this lady proves glaring flaws in choice of staff deputed to carry out tasks assigned to them in spite of SOP that define what they are supposed to do.
A. MALIK,
Lahore, August 24.