Zaaviya زاویہ

“Media brag PIA in sense that it is a part of Government”,

In reply of my above statement, a friend of mine wrote” PSO, SSGC and Motorway Police is also a part of Govt. but duly respected by media and well reputed..”

PIA Airbus and Boeing

I think it is not fine to compare domestic industries with internationally controlled and monitored corporation having highly technical operational mechanism. A common person can never understand the strictness of international quality standards and safety measures an aircraft follows just before it gets its certificate of release, an inch of scratch on fuselage or malfunction of a single latch can cause a delay of several hours while factors such as weather or visibility are beyond our scope of discussion.

In addition, if media has to cover airlines then why they specifically target “Pakistan airlines”, while blunders of other airline operators get a little tag of “niji airline”. A few days back a new private airline Bhoja air brusted her tyre upon landing, though it doesn’t mean that was an intentional accident and media should blame Bhoja the way they target PIA but newspapers reported it as “a private airline made a harsh landing due to sandstorm” where the name of the airline operator remained intact.

In contrast of this, a few days later Captain Alvi of PIA landed back his ATR flight PK-501 to replace aircraft’s TCAS (Traffic collision avoidance system) as it was producing some unwanted beeps, aircraft could have flown safely but he landed back to make sure safety and wellbeing of passengers onboard. Engineering department released that aircraft within an hour after replacing the faulty system and aircraft flew back as it was scheduled. And you know what, a private news channel reported it as a Breaking news: “PIA kee pervaz kee doran-e-parvaz kharabi kay baiz hanagami landing, tammam musafir aur amla mehfooz”

Why news channels follow a racist behavior in some or I would say most cases? This not an only example, many times news channels broadcast rumors without confirming them from authentic source like the one we heard about Captain who made passengers to travel on toilet seat. By sprinkling, a little spice on top of news can make their headline a little more interesting but it destroys customer trust and ruins market reputation for no reason.

I would say it again; comparing an airline with other technical and domestic corporations isn’t a nice idea. European aviation and safety agency along with International civil aviation organization monitor and regulate all maintenance work done on aircrafts flying over international borders. Their inspections can range from a single screw to engine parameters. Maintaining aircrafts up to their standards and quality in limited funds and resources is definitely a hard job for airline and its staff.

We know there is mismanagement; I admit we have faults for which PIA should face public blames but political influence in recruitment and agreements, inexperienced managing staff and lack of funds are major culprits. How can an airline operate ideally when her country is facing economic downfall, where politicians and government officials try their luck hard to place their blessed fellows on senior level of management? PIA is not going through an ideal time; in fact surviving through these economic hardships is an achievement itself.

PIA’s technical staff, cockpit crew and certifying staff are some of those skilled professionals who kept this national flag carrier flying across the oceans and continents in all bad times and downfalls, they are some of those loyal people who work day and night to ensure every aircraft fly on time and land safely. I may blame higher management for corruption and stupid decisions but I can never doubt honesty and technical ability of PIA’s those hard working professionals who find patriotism and prestige in their work.