KARACHI: The flight operation of the Pakistan International Airlines started returning to normality on Saturday, the third day of the current crisis, when only two domestic flights — Karachi-Multan-Karachi and Lahore-Quetta-Lahore – were cancelled

On Thursday and Friday over 40 flights were cancelled.

The aviation authorities summoned PIA Chairman Nasser N. Jaffer and other officials to Islamabad to discuss the crisis.

They have also invited representatives of the Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (Palpa) to discuss the issue.

Palpa said in a statement that its office-bearers would go to Islamabad on Sunday to meet officials of the aviation division. They said a government official should attend the meeting as a guarantor.

The issues to be discussed in the meeting are: implementation of the PIA-Palpa agreement of 2011-13, withdrawal of “illegal” disciplinary proceedings against members of the association and a halt to their “victimisation”, payment of pension and medical allowance, and air tickets for pilots, according to the statement.

Palpa has apologised to passengers for inconvenience caused to them “because of incompetence and stubborn attitude of the PIA management”.

While no official version was available from the PIA, which observes Saturday as a weekly holiday, its spokesperson could not be contacted despite several attempts.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority has constituted a medical board to examine 14 pilots who submitted ‘sick leave’ two hours before their flights, our staff reporter adds from Lahore.

“The CAA Director General has constituted a medical board headed by Dr Faheemuddin Khan (chief of aviation medicine Areo Medical Centre) to conduct the special medical board of the 14 pilots on Oct 7,” CAA spokesman Pervez George told Dawn on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2015

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