Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) came under heavy public criticism on Sunday after one of its Airbus A320 aircraft experienced the same technical fault for the second consecutive day, leaving passengers stranded and raising serious concerns about the national carrier’s maintenance standards.
According to reports, the aircraft — AP-BLS — was preparing to operate flight PK-233 from Islamabad to Al Ain when it returned to the ramp due to a malfunction in the Flight Control Computer (FCC). The same issue had occurred a day earlier on a Dubai-bound flight.
Despite the previous day’s fault, the aircraft was declared airworthy under the Minimum Equipment List (MEL) and cleared for service. However, when the malfunction resurfaced on Sunday, the captain cancelled the flight, and the aircraft remained grounded.
The situation worsened when it was discovered that the engineering base in Islamabad did not have a spare FCC unit. Engineers were forced to remove the part from an aircraft in Karachi and fly it to Islamabad to install it for the morning PK-300 flight.
These repeated cancellations left passengers frustrated, with long waits in airport lounges and disrupted travel plans. Aviation analysts said the incident exposed deeper structural issues within PIA’s operations, including poor maintenance planning, shortage of spare parts, and weak managerial oversight.
Meanwhile, tensions between PIA management and its engineering staff entered the sixth day, resulting in nine flight cancellations and delays in 18 flights. Engineering sources attributed the disruptions to technical faults and the non-availability of parts.
PIA management reportedly took punitive action against engineers who had raised serious safety concerns. The Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) strongly rejected these allegations, asserting that it supports the airline’s privatization.
SAEP stated that management has targeted engineers who strictly follow international maintenance standards, subjecting them to warning letters, notices, and forced transfers. The organization criticized these actions, saying they jeopardize flight safety and further damage the national carrier’s reputation.
SAEP emphasized that no compromise on safety will be tolerated and engineers cannot be pressured into certifying any unsafe aircraft.
