The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to ground all 10 ATR planes in its fleet after a decision by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to hold shakedown tests of the aircraft, the airline said on Monday.
"It has been decided to keep all 10 ATR aircraft grounded till they are cleared after thorough examination," said a PIA press release.
The statement said the "temporary suspension of ATR operation" will affect PIA's flights to smaller airports like Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Mohenjo Daro, Zhob, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chitral and Gilgit.
Passengers have been advised to check the status of their flights from the PIA call centre by dialing 111-786-786.
An ATR-42 flight of PIA grabbed headlines on Sunday night when its pilot aborted the take-off of the Multan-Karachi flight.
The plane, carrying 48 people, was grounded because of some fault in one of its engines.
PIA spokesman Danyal Gilani told that the pilot observed some fault in an engine and brought the plane back to the bay after informing the air traffic control. He denied media reports that flight PK-581’s engine had caught fire.
The incident had come five days after a PIA ATR aircraft went down near Havelian killing all 47 people on board.
At a press conference recently, the PIA chairman said that the national flag carrier had been operating 11 ATRs before the plane crash on Wednesday.
