The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) engineers’ protest has entered its second day, causing widespread flight disruptions in Karachi on Tuesday, with numerous flights delayed and several cancelled, leaving passengers stranded.
A dispute between PIA management and its aircraft engineers has brought flight operations to a near halt, as engineers have refused to issue safety clearances for several aircraft, grounding planes and disrupting schedules across major airports.
Sources reported that the protest has thrown the airline’s timetable into chaos.
Since around 8 pm on Monday, none of PIA’s international flights managed to depart, and dozens of domestic and outbound services have faced delays or cancellations.
PIA management has begun taking disciplinary action against the engineers, according to the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP).
Six engineers stationed at Peshawar airport have been transferred to Karachi, sources said.
They emphasized that the engineers are not on strike — they are performing duty but only clearing aircraft they deem fit to fly. Any plane considered unsafe will not receive clearance, they added.
The engineers claim that management is attempting to force approvals through pressure and intimidation.
As a contingency, PIA brought in engineers from a private firm, but they were able to clear only two flights, SAEP sources confirmed.
Scores of flights grounded
At least 55 flights were affected on Monday, with five cancelled across the Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad airports, they said.
Twelve international flights were also disrupted, putting passengers in a difficult spot. A large number of them are Umrah pilgrims.
Two Karachi-Skardu flights and one Lahore-Karachi flight were cancelled, while Lahore-Muscat flights PK-329 and PK-330 were also cancelled.
Similarly, the Karachi-Lahore flight PK-302 was delayed by over 14 hours, while Karachi-Islamabad’s first flight, PK-300, could not take off as scheduled. Islamabad-Gilgit flights PK-601 and PK-602 also failed to operate due to operational disruption.
The SAEP said its members would not return to work until the airline’s CEO changed his attitude. They’ve stopped issuing airworthiness clearance for the aircraft, the union said.
According to SAEP sources, the engineers had been wearing black armbands for almost two and a half months to press their demands.
They said that even during this long, peaceful protest, the airline’s management didn’t bother to sit down and talk to them.
Sources say the engineers haven’t received a raise in eight years, and the airline is facing a serious shortage of spare parts, alleging that the engineers are coerced into clearing aircraft for flights in breach of aviation rules.
The SAEP said they could not put passengers’ lives at risk because of pressure from the airline’s management.
The CEO of the national airline has ordered strict action against the aircraft engineers and warned that any engineer responsible for disrupting operations would face tough measures.
On the other hand, a spokesperson for the national airline said the aircraft engineers' body held no legal standing, and "the real aim of this movement is to sabotage the airline’s privatisation."
He said calling it a “safety issue” and walking off the job at the same time was a deliberate act meant to trouble passengers and create unfair pressure on the administration.
"The Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, is in force at the national airline, which makes strikes or walkouts illegal," the CEO said, adding that those taking part in or supporting such actions will face legal consequences.
He also said that the management was arranging engineering support from other airlines, and flights would begin departing soon.
