Apropos report published in your paper about CAA taking note of failure of air-conditioning on Pk 319 of 6 August 2015 at Islamabad Airport, which resulted in serious problems for passengers in hot humid summer, with many of them reported to have fainted and one heart patient suffering medical complications. No report has surfaced about findings of the investigation, if any launched by CAA, the regulatory body tasked to ensure safe and reliable air transport to passengers whose taxes pay for salaries of this statutory organization.
It is time an investigation is launched against corrupt and incompetent PIA executives who were responsible for procurement of substandard Ground Air Conditioning Vans which lacked capacity to provide sufficient cooling and ventilation for aircrafts which they were supposed to service. These irregularities started in 2005, when PIA MD appointed mere high school graduate cronies as GM Ramp, and after a brief pause the same criminals were nominated by PPP in 2008 to run airline as MD, Directors, etc. In the process the national airline suffered huge losses, which in absence of accountability and sincere efforts for restructuring, has become technically insolvent, and is a burden on taxpayers. Will somebody have moral courage to order JIT to investigate who were responsible for appointing TransWorld, an unknown company based in Dubai, on 24 September 2011 “exclusively with first right of approval for a period of 5 years for all services pertaining to normal supply of aviation spares and repair of rotables, consumer material, chemicals, and life limited parts with aggregated values of not less than $ 40 Million annually”. This controversial deal was given post dated approval by a politically nominated Board of Directors. Under this agreement PIA’s own spare parts inventory valued at over $ 1 Billion was handed over to Transworld for sale which raises concerns of transparency.
ALI MALIK,
Lahore, August 23.