ABBOTTABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines has decided to close down its office in Abbottabad from May 30, which will cause great hardships to people availing the facility from across Hazara division.

A source said the PIA Abbottabad office catered to the needs of people, especially labourers working in the Middle Eastern and other foreign countries. They said almost 90 per cent workforce preferred to use the PIA flights for their travel abroad and back.

He said that the PIA office was established in 1990 and had more than 200 travel agents facilitating the passengers. He added that after the closure of the PIA office the people would have to either go to Peshawar or Rawalpindi for the ticketing.

The travel agents serving people in Allai, Oghi, Haripur, Mansehra and other areas of Hazara division will be troubled in having reservations done and making any changes to the bookings from PIA offices in Peshawar and Rawalpindi office. This way they will lose handsome revenue as private travel agencies working with other airlines will be having edge, the source explained.

Though PIA and other airlines provide online booking facilities, a PIA local employee said due to low literacy rate and lesser knowledge of internet, the labour class could not avail this facility, and would have to knock the doors of travel agents at great expense.

The people have demanded of federal ministers Omer Ayub Khan, Azam Khan Swati and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani to intervene into the matter.

They also urged the PIA chairman to revisit the decision as the Abbottabad office was running in profit.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2020