Passengers Stranded as Flights Stay Grounded
Latest News Another tense day for Pakistan International Airlines as the PIA engineers protest continues. Airports in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad looked unusually quiet, except for long lines of frustrated travelers waiting for answers that weren’t coming. Engineers have refused to clear several aircraft, and the country’s national carrier is once again struggling to stay in the air. What began as a dispute has now turned into a full-blown standoff. Engineers say they’re doing their jobs, just not approving planes they don’t consider airworthy, while management calls it a strike in disguise.
Flights Delayed, Schedules in Chaos
Another tense day for Pakistan International Airlines as the PIA engineers protest continues. Airports in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad looked unusually quiet, except for long lines of frustrated travelers waiting for answers that weren’t coming. Engineers have refused to clear several aircraft, and the country’s national carrier is once again struggling to stay in the air. What began as a dispute has now turned into a full-blown standoff. Engineers say they’re doing their jobs, just not approving planes they don’t consider airworthy, while management calls it a strike in disguise.
Engineers Say Safety First
The engineers, represented by the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP), insist they’re not refusing work, they’re refusing risk. Anything that doesn’t meet safety standards won’t fly, they say. According to union sources, engineers have been warning management for months about missing spare parts and growing pressure to approve planes that shouldn’t leave the hangar. For two and a half months, they’ve been wearing black armbands in protest. But even after weeks of symbolic action, they claim, no one from management sat down to listen.
Management Strikes Back
PIA’s top management sees things very differently. Officials say the PIA engineers protest isn’t about safety, it’s about power and politics. They argue the real goal is to disrupt the airline’s ongoing privatization process. The CEO has ordered strict disciplinary action, reminding employees that under the Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, walkouts or strikes are illegal. Anyone found obstructing operations, he warned, will face legal consequences. In a statement, the airline’s spokesperson went further, saying the engineers’ association “has no legal standing.” He claimed that calling it a safety issue and refusing to clear planes was a deliberate act to create chaos and unfairly pressure the administration.
Backup Plans Falling Short
To limit the damage caused by the PIA engineers protest, the airline hired engineers from a private firm. But that plan barely worked, only two planes were cleared by outside engineers all day. Meanwhile, six engineers based in Peshawar were transferred to Karachi, a move the union says was meant to intimidate them. Despite these steps, airports remain crowded with passengers who don’t know when their flights will resume. The disruption has not only affected travel schedules but also added to the airline’s already fragile reputation.
A Long-Brewing Conflict
Behind all this lies years of tension. The PIA engineers protest stems from long-standing grievances, engineers say they haven’t received a salary raise in eight years, while working conditions have worsened. Spare parts are hard to find, aircraft are aging, and morale is low. PIA’s challenges aren’t new, but this confrontation has made them painfully visible. At its heart is a question of safety versus survival: can the airline keep flying if its own engineers say it shouldn’t? For now, no one’s backing down. Planes remain parked, tempers remain high, and Pakistan’s skies remain half-empty.
