Multan [Pakistan], October 1 : The national air carrier of Pakistan, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) escaped a major accident when it suffered an engine malfunction and all of its tyres burst while averting take-off from the Dubai International Airport. The plane was carrying 172 passengers from Dubai to Multan, according to Ary News.
Luckily all passengers remained safe and were evacuated from the flight. The PIA spokesperson said that the plane, Airbus A320 was accelerating on the runway when the warning of an engine malfunction was received. The captain employed the emergency brake system, bringing the aircraft to a safe halt. However, this sudden braking caused all the tyres to burst.
Ary News noted that the PIA engineering department dispatched a team from Karachi to Dubai on a flight scheduled in the early hours of Tuesday to rectify the technical fault. Meanwhile, the management of PIA rescheduled flights for the affected passengers. Some of them will be accommodated on PIA flight PK 204 from Dubai to Lahore tonight, while others will be flown from Sharjah to Multan.
Two days back, PIA's flight from Muscat (Oman) to Peshawar was diverted to Karachi due to a hydraulic failure being detected in the aircraft.
The Express Tribune noted that PIA has been under a massive debt burden of approximately USD 2.9 billion. Despite multiple bailout packages being provided to it by the government in recent years, PIA is struggling to stay afloat. The government is aiming to privatize the airlines with six bidders pre-qualified for the sale.
The attempts towards privatization bidding have seen multiple delays and deadline extensions, the latest being an extension for deposits till October 1. Aviation sources warn that this extension could negatively impact the privatisation process, Ary news reported.
This privatisation effort is in line with the recommendations given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the Government of Pakistan to sell off all loss-making state-owned enterprises so as to stabilise the economy. The recent accidents make it tough for the company to gain trust during a time when it is causing heavy burdens to the national exchequer.