LAHORE: The PIA will build 12 training centres in all major cities within six months with an overall capacity of 1,200 students per year.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Aviation Shujaat Azeem said at the inauguration of one such training centre at the PIA Complex, Allama Iqbal International Airport, on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Azeem said on the advice of the premier the PIA had taken this initiative for the youth as part of its corporate social responsibility.

“It will help our youth meet the challenges of airline industry. Lahore’s initiative is the first one while the second centre will be opened in Rawalpindi during this month. More centres in Peshawar, Quetta, Nawabshah, Swat, Muzaffarabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad and Hyderabad will be opened within six months,” he said.

He said the training centre had been awarded ANO-147 approval by the Civil Aviation Authority in line with the European standards.

He said: “We are offering airline industry courses on a competitive and affordable price compared to other local and international training centres.”

Commenting on the airlines’ current situation, Mr Azeem said 15 new aircrafts on dry lease would be inducted within few months while three Airbus A-320 aircraft had already been made part of the PIA fleet.

“Our utmost efforts to revive the national flag carrier are continuing and in the first six months of the current year we have been able to cut losses to over Rs8 billion or 45 per cent from the corresponding period of year of 2013.”

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2014