For decades, Pakistan International Airlines carried a slogan that resonated beyond advertising: Great People to Fly With. It reflected a period when PIA’s pilots, engineers, and crew were respected across the aviation world, and when the airline itself symbolised competence and ambition. However, an airline survives not on people alone, but on systems, discipline, and financial reality. And for PIA, that reality eventually became impossible to ignore.

There was a time when PIA was not a problem to be explained but a benchmark to be admired. In the 1960s and 70s, it was Asia’s model carrier, profitable, disciplined, and technically respected. PIA helped launch Emirates, trained foreign crews, pioneered jet operations in the region, and built a reputation for professionalism recognised globally.

Unfortunately, over the decades, PIA turned from an airline into a political warehouse. Governments of every colour used it to absorb excess labour, reward loyalty, and postpone difficult decisions. Professional management gave way to political appointments. Commercial logic surrendered to administrative convenience. By the time losses became headline news, the damage was already structural.

At its worst,........

© Daily Times