The AFP report said PIA had been criticized for charging over $1,200 for a one-way flight from Kabul to Islamabad, the prices have even reached $2500 amid crisis, compared with $150 previously. But the spokesman said despite high ticket prices, the flight was not lucrative.
“We would pay more than $400,000 as insurance premium which could only be possible if 300 passengers are available,” Khan said.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended flights to Kabul International Airport (KBL) due to the “unprofessional” attitude of the Taliban.
“Our flights frequently faced undue delays because of the unprofessional attitude of the Kabul aviation authorities,” Abdullah Hafeez Khan, PIA spokesman, told AFP on October 14, 2021.
The news agency cited an airline source as saying Taliban officials were frequently “derogatory” and that they had “physically manhandled” a member of staff on one occasion.
PIA has been one of the few carriers to offer commercial flights to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021. The Taliban had asked carriers to return on September 26, 2021, saying the airport was now fully operational.
Citing the reason of unprofessional attitude of Afghanistan Government PIA has showed the true repute of its organization. Charging exorbitant ticket prices from the people already in panic is an example of taking undue advantage of the situation and against ethical business practices.
AISSC’s perspective on this matter is that commercial carriers like PIA & KAM Air are taking advantage of the current Afghanistan Political situation. AISSC believes that the insurance companies to doing the business through unfair means by raising insurance costs for commercial flights to and from Afghanistan.
The civil aviation ministry of Pakistan must have some regulatory control over these malpractices which are not only troubling the common Afghan people but also giving the reasons to fraught relations with Afghanistan’s current political power.
These kinds of business maneuvers’ not only cheat the public but also creates a trust deficit among the brotherly neighbors which is already being challenged in recent months after the Taliban took over the government control in the country exposing Pakistan’s sheer involvement which the local Afghan populace sees as the interference in their local affairs.
PIA being a government entity of the Pakistan Government must comply with the Foreign Policy of Pakistan who supports and favors the Taliban government by doing advoking their cause in the regional and international forums. The company should treat and give due respect to the concerns raised by the Afghan Govt; rather than taking unprofessional measures and citing unrealistic, falsified claims over the regulations and complaints conveyed by the Taliban government for the normalization of the airfares on previous levels along with the restoration of the regular commercial flights when the condition has become normal and people are not in panic mode.
—-AISSC
