KARACHI: Flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) remained severely disrupted for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as the aircraft engineers’ protest deepened, leading to dozens of flight delays and cancellations, leaving passengers stranded at major airports.
According to airline sources, engineers have stopped issuing safety clearances for several aircraft, effectively grounding large parts of the national carrier’s fleet. The dispute between PIA management and the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) has caused chaos in domestic and international flight schedules.
Sources said that after 8pm on Monday, none of PIA’s international flights managed to take off, while many domestic services were either delayed or cancelled. “At least 55 flights were affected, including 12 international ones,” a source told Geo News, adding that the majority of passengers stranded were Umrah pilgrims.
The affected flights included two Karachi–Skardu services and one Lahore–Karachi flight, while Lahore–Muscat flights PK-329 and PK-330 were cancelled. Karachi–Lahore flight PK-302 was delayed by more than 14 hours, and Karachi–Islamabad flight PK-300 also failed to depart as scheduled.
PIA’s management has reportedly launched disciplinary action against engineers and transferred six of them from Peshawar to Karachi. However, the SAEP insists that its members are not on strike — they are reporting for duty but refusing to clear aircraft they deem unfit to fly.
“Anything we don’t consider airworthy won’t get clearance,” an SAEP representative said, accusing management of “pressuring engineers to compromise on safety.” The union added that its members had been wearing black armbands for two and a half months in protest over pending demands, but management “never bothered to engage in talks.”
The engineers claim they haven’t received a raise in eight years and allege that the airline’s shortage of spare parts has led to pressure on staff to approve aircraft in breach of aviation safety standards.
The national airline’s CEO, however, warned of “strict action” against those disrupting operations. “The Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, is in force at PIA, which makes such strikes or walkouts illegal,” he said, adding that legal action will be taken against anyone involved.
The PIA spokesperson said the engineers’ protest had “no legal standing,” claiming its real objective was to “sabotage the airline’s privatisation process.”
He said the management had arranged engineering support from private companies and other airlines, and that limited flight departures had resumed.
However, SAEP sources maintained that their stance was purely based on safety concerns. “We cannot put passengers’ lives at risk just to satisfy the management’s schedule,” one engineer said.
The standoff continues to disrupt operations nationwide, with passengers facing uncertainty amid one of the worst industrial disputes in the airline’s recent history.