LOCAL dailies have been highlighting cases of carelessness and the poor state of affairs of aircraft safety in PIA. Most recently one of the airbuses was grounded in Paris during a surprise inspection of the aircraft that was about to take off.

There was another news report that a bird hit a 737 aircraft which was flying from Delhi to Lahore.

It was allowed to take off again with speedy checking, lasting only two hours.

The third incident occurred a few days ago when an aeroplane's wheels failed to pull up at Sialkot on a Jeddah-bound flight.

I would like to draw the attention of the CAA/PIA's quality assurance personnel to observe both passenger safety and aircraft quality procedures that are set by International Air Safety Boards.

Apart from a few 777 airplanes, none of the PIA fleet meets the minimum criteria of international safety standards. Aircraft that are used on the Middle East route are in a deplorable condition.

Can a senior official view the condition of 737 aircraft that are used on the Lahore-Abu Dhabi sector?

The sooner they do, the safer it will be for passengers.

DR NADEEM Abu Dhabi