The PIA strike has entered the fourth day and with the cancellation of over 200 flights, losses are estimated to have reached Rs one billion. This is more than our ailing airline could bear and it remains to be seen how in the days to come, it would be able to cope with this financial crunch. Apart from this, the passengers also expressed their frustration over the disruption of the flight schedule, as many had to reach their destinations on emergency basis. Rehman Malik stated on Thursday that the issue would be resolved in a few days. He would put up the protestors charter of demands mainly of the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association to the Prime Minister. There is not much hope of an amicable settlement. First, this means that the crisis would persist for some more days and secondly, in case Mr Gilani refuses to accept the protestors demands, the situation would deteriorate. So far the PALPA has raised three main demands: reinstatement of the sacked employees, cancellation of the deal with the Turkish airline and the sacking of MD Aijaz Haroon. It must not be forgotten that the present state of affairs has, to a very large extent, been ascribed to the way Mr Haroon has been running the airline; the losses suffered by the PIA intensified and nothing has been done to contain corruption. On top of it, striking a deal with the Turkish airline, selling all the European and American routes, dealt a final blow and paved the way for the countrywide demonstrations. That various associations had joined the protest bears testimony to the fact that the Turkish airline deal is harmful to the PIA. Since everyone in the aviation ranging from pilots to other officials have stated it categorically that the deal will spell disaster for the national airline and would scare away its regular clients travelling to Western destinations, Mr Gilani must act quickly and meet the protestors demands.