At a time when the commercial aviation and hospitality business is enduring a horrible crisis, PIA, unfortunately, had a fatal crash, with over 97 fatalities. With this backdrop, there was absolutely no need to fuel this crisis by publicly announcing the alleged fake pilot’s licenses.
The focus should have been on investigating the crash by an independent investigation committee, not one mired in controversies, with a conflict of interest. As for the Airbus team, their sole interest would be to safeguard their product, the A320. It was only after the whole world grounded the Boeing 737 Max 800 that Boeing accepted their mistake. PIA and CAA must be revamped.
The former PIA Chairman decided to invest in the hospitality business when its subsidiary, PIAIL, acquired Hotel Roosevelt in 1978 on a 20-year long lease with an option to purchase. After a legal battle, following the unethical role of former MD PIA Investment, who attempted to pay almost double the agreed price in 1999, was revoked by a US judge in 2000, the federal government became the exclusive owner of the hotel, valued today at $1.4 Billion. The decision to sell Hotel Roosevelt, or a joint venture, when the hotel industry is suffering, gives birth to a high degree of scepticism.
MALIK TARIQ ALI,
Lahore.
