RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Wednesday that its flight operations to and from the Canadian city of Toronto are proceeding as scheduled, refuting reports that the national flag carrier’s plane was grounded over non-payment of dues.

According to media reports, a PIA flight was halted in Canada following complaints from ground handling and fuel companies. Swissport, the ground handling company, had earlier issued a letter to stop ground-handling services in the event of non-payment, the reports added.

PIA spokesman Abdullah H. Khan stated that airline is operating its flight schedule to all destinations as per the schedule. He explained that the payment delay resulted due to the time difference between Pakistan and Canada, causing the flight to depart four hours behind schedule.

The outstanding dues to Swissport, totalling $208,000, have been settled, along with the $250,000 owed to the fuel company, Menzies, confirmed the spokesman.

Four round-trip flights depart weekly from Islamabad and Lahore to Toronto. The PIA spokesman clarified that the flight’s departure to Lahore was delayed due to non-payment of dues with the handling agency at Toronto Airport.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2023