Pakistan’s national airline is currently going through the deepest economic crisis in its history. The situation has become so serious that the airline is on the verge of complete closure. This will have a direct impact on thousands of common passengers who fly for their work, business or to meet their loved ones.
Aviation fuel becomes costlier by 150%
In the last few weeks, there has been a huge increase in the prices of aviation fuel (jet fuel). This increase is not a minor increase, but there has been a huge jump of almost 150 percent in prices. The most surprising thing is that no official announcement was made about this huge increase and it was implemented silently.
If we look at the official figures, the price of jet fuel (JP-1) which was Rs 190 per liter on March 1, reached Rs 472 per liter by March 21. With effect from March 21 alone, the prices were increased by Rs 84 (i.e. 21.65 percent). When the cost of flying a plane will become so high, then obviously the airline will pass the burden of this loss on the tickets of common passengers. Due to this, the cost of air travel may be completely out of the budget of the common man.
PIA Chairman’s serious warning
Amidst this huge economic pressure, PIA Consortium Chairman Arif Habib has issued a very serious warning. In an interview clip shared with news channel ‘Bol News’ on Sunday, he clarified that if jet fuel prices continue to skyrocket, it will become completely impossible for the airline to continue operating.
In Habib’s words, if the situation continues like this, PIA will be ‘forced to close down’ its operations. Such a statement coming from the head of a government airline of any country shows that the crisis is going out of control. This is a big blow for all those passengers whose movement depends on this institution.
The brunt of America-Iran war
The main reason for the sudden rise in fuel prices is the ongoing war between America and Iran. This international tension has badly shaken the supply chain of the entire world. There is an environment of great uncertainty at the global level, due to which there are continuous disruptions in the supply of aviation fuel.