Eye-watering losses

In the minute it took you to read this little piece, Pakistan International Airlines lost over Rs234,000 or roughly equivalent to the minimum wage of about seven people. PIA’s losses are so staggering that it is hard to wrap one’s mind around them. Even back in 2005, PIA was so deep in losses that one hour’s losses could have paid nearly three dozen people for a month (assuming a minimum wage of Rs15,000). According to PIA’s financials, its profit from operations was Rs3.56bn in the first six months of the current fiscal year. However, exchange rate losses and finance costs were Rs60.7bn. PIA is stuck in the same trap as Pakistan — borrow to stay afloat and then drown in servicing debt. Not that the airline was not up to its own shenanigans. A September 2019 audit reveals that between 2016 and 2017, PIA operated 46 flights without passengers, causing a loss of $1.1m. It also flew 36 Haj flights with completely empty seats. Then there was the fake degrees scandal, where over 100 PIA employees had fraudulent academic qualifications.