RAWALPINDI: Pakis­tan International Airlines (PIA) will get one of the two Airbus A320 aircraft stranded in Indonesia as the national flag carrier has paid $13 million to the leasing company for the purpose.

A spokesman for PIA said one of the two Airbus 320s will reach Pakistan in a day or two, while the other one will be added to the fleet within two weeks.

He said PIA had to pay $26m to the leasing company, whereas it has paid $13m after which one aircraft has been released.

The first aircraft will travel from Jakarta to Bangkok and then onwards to Pakistan. The matter had been pending for two years.

A high-level delegation of PIA, headed by the aviation secretary, went to resolve the issue in October.

PIA’s two Airbus A320 aircraft have been parked in Jakarta since September 2021 due to a dispute with the leasing company, said the spokesman, adding that the airline has bought these planes for $26m, saving PIA re-delivery charges.

PIA had initially returned the Airbus A320 planes to the leasing company in 2021. However, the leasing company declined to accept the aircraft, asserting that they did not meet the specified criteria outlined in the contract.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023