KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines chief Air Marshal Arshad Malik has said that the national flag carrier will soon induct four new aircraft into its fleet.

“We have already started a fleet enhancement plan and soon PIA will expand its network and increase its access the world over,” he said while speaking to PIA employees at its head office.

According to a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Air Marshal said that the PIA would strictly go according to its route rationalisation policy and new viable routes would also be introduced.

Referring to the recently revived Sialkot-Sharjah and Lahore-Muscat routes, he said the results were very encouraging. “Very soon we are going to launch flights on Sialkot-Barcelona and Lahore-Bangkok sectors,” he said.

Mr Malik, who is a serving official of the Pakistan Air Force and holds the position of the president and chief executive officer in the PIA, told the employees that he had joined the national carrier to make it a leading airline.

Urging them to work together as a team, the PIA chief said he was fully aware of the problems being faced by the employees and assured them that as soon as the airline came out of the financial constraints their salaries would be revised.

He asked the employees to work for the betterment of the airline without compromising on service standards.

He vowed to maintain merit in every sphere of the airline. “Merit shall prevail in PIA with regards to promotions.”

He thanked the employees’ associations and the CBA for their support.

Meanwhile, the chief human resource officer of the national flag carrier, Asma Bajwa, has resigned.

A PIA spokesperson said that Ms Bajwa had quit the PIA due to personal reasons.

The PIA chief appreciated her contributions for the betterment of the human resources during her tenure and wished her success in future endeavours.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2018