PIA pays $7m after jet seizure in Malaysia
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) confirmed that it has paid around $7 million to a jet company ater a plane of the flag carrier was seized by Malaysian authorities over the non-payment of aircrat lease dues, the media reported on Sunday.
On Friday, the PIA informed the London High Court that it paid the amount to Peregrine Aviation Charlie Ltd in the case pertaining to two jets leased to it by the Dublin-based Aercap, reports Geo News.
The court was told that the PIA did not make payments since it asked for the amendment of its claim last July and that it owed $580,000 per month to the airliner. The litigation was initiated due to non-payment.
The leasing company had filed a case against PIA at the London High Court in October 2020 over its failure to pay the leasing fee worth about $14 million, which had been pending for six months.
As soon as the company received the information of the PIA flight 895’s scheduled landing in Malaysia, it appealed to a local court to seize the aircrat as per the international civil aviation leasing laws, sources added.
The Boeing 777 aircrat was then seized on Jan.15 ater the London High Court issued the order.
In a separate development, President Arif Alvi approved funds worth Rs9.5 billion for PIA voluntary separation scheme.
In this regard, a notification has been issued by the cabinet finance division.
The funds were approved ater the national flag carrier had requested the government to release grant for employees under the voluntary separation scheme. Ater approval of the President Alvi, the finance secretary has also approved the transfer of funds to PIA.
It is pertinent to mention here that over 1,300 employees of the airline had submited applications seeking early retirement under the voluntary separation scheme (VSS).
PIA had planned to cut down the number of its employees to 7,500, less than half the current strength of its workforce, to reduce cost.
A mandatory retirement scheme will follow the
VSS, under which employees with poor performance will be laid off, the sources said.
Besides laying off almost half its employees, Pakistan International Airlines plans to move its head offices, including the flight services division, commercial department and human resource divisions, to Islamabad by the end of January as part of the restructuring plan.