PIA to be handed over to new owners this month

• All local, international regulatory approvals completed, adviser says• Islamabad airport privatisation planned during FY27• Karachi, Lahore airport outsourcing process to begin immediately• Five Discos targeted for sale or concession

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines will be fully and formally handed over to its new owners before the end of the current month, completing a privatisation transaction that had been delayed for months after bidding in December last year because of global regulatory requirements.

“It will be handed over to the new buyers by the end of this month,” Prime Minister’s Adviser on Privatisation Muhammad Ali told Dawn over the weekend, adding that all local and international regulatory approvals had now been completed.

Ali said the national flag carrier’s operating rights in various countries had to be transferred to the privatised operator, requiring several regulatory processes, which had now been completed. The local law relating to PIA’s conversion into a public limited entity also stood amended.

Responding to a question, he said PIA’s decision-making remained in the public sector for now, but under the sale and purchase agreement, the private owners were fully on board on all operational and financial decisions.

He said the exemption of equipment, accessories and lease and purchase of aircraft from taxes for 15 years after privatisation had been cleared by the International Monetary Fund to facilitate the transaction and given legal cover in the Finance Bill 2026-27.

Ali conceded that the same tax treatment was not currently available to other airlines because the IMF’s consent was limited to PIA. For other operators, the government would again take up the matter........

© Dawn Business