LAHORE, Sept 8: Abrupt suspension of operation by a Swedish airline from Pakistan has put more than Rs150 million of about 5,000 Pakistanis at stake. The chances of the fare reimbursement are bleak, according to sources in the Civil Aviation Authority. There has been no official word on the issue yet.
The SWE-Fly suspended its flights from the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Sept 3 without intimating the authorities concerned.
Sources said the foreign airline had the booking to the full capacity of its six flights a week from Lahore to Stockholm till Sept 19 and a partial one till the middle of next month. One-way fare for the Lahore-Stockholm route is about Rs30,000. A SWE-Fly flight has a capacity of at least 200 passengers.
The airline had started its operations from Lahore in April this year with two flights a week, which was later enhanced to six after its success as no other airline offered direct flights to Stockholm.
The suspension of flights, they said, had also incurred a loss of at least Rs6 million on a private airline which provided the SWE-Fly with ground-handling facilities.
Similarly, the Swedish airline had to pay some outstanding dues to the CAA which used to get $3,000 for a flight on account of landing and housing charges, sources said.
Besides, they added, the authorized travel agents also feared loss of their security money.
At present, no SWE-Fly representative was available at the airport to explain and guide the passengers coming from different parts of the country to catch their flights to Stockholm.
The affected passengers are contacting their travel agents for seeking explanation on the abrupt suspension of the airline’s operation and reimbursement of their fare.
The travel agents have reportedly refused to pay them, saying they had also lost the contact with the airline after the suspension of its flights.
Mystery shrouds the issue as the officials believe that the airlines was doing a roaring business in Pakistan. “There was no indication from any quarter till Sept 2 that the SWE-Fly would wind up its operation from here,” said an airline official.
However, the Swedish airline quotes “financial difficulties” as the reason for the decision. According to a notice affixed by the airline authorities at the airport, its passengers can claim their insurance through their travel agents.
“It is next to impossible to know if and when flights will start again,” it read.
The government, said the sources, had yet to decide whether or not it would take up the matter with the International Airline Transport Association to recover the damages.
