ISLAMABAD, March 15: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz flew to Uzbekistan in new VVIP plane gifted by Qatar last month. The Airbus-310 aircraft was given official livery and had undergone engineering checks at PIA facilities in Karachi.

The aircraft, which previously bore Qatari registration A7- AAF, was initially given AP-GOP as the tail number by Civil Aviation Authority. It was later changed to AP-OOI. However, no reasons have officially assigned for the change in the tail numbers.

The A-310 has an image of a fluttering Pakistani flag on the tail, much like the old PIA livery before the airline decided to have regional motifs on the tails of its fleet. Additionally, it has green bands on both sides, which makes it quite distinct from PIA fleet.

The plane has three sections, one of which is exclusively meant for the VVIP. The interior has a beige and mauve colour scheme. All accessories in the VVIP compartment have pine wood effect.

This jet is the 13th in the country’s VVIP fleet which also includes G-IV, Cessna Citation V, Cessna Citation Excel, Learjet 35, Learjet 45 XR, Raytheon Hawker 400, Falcon 20, Cessna Conquest II, Bell 412 helicopters (3) and a MI-17 helicopter. Although, this aircraft was the oldest in the Qatari fleet mostly comprising modern carriers like A319, A320, A340-200 and A340- 500, it is still in excellent shape with substantially low hours on its airframe.

Critics see the induction of this aircraft into the VVIP fleet as a luxury, with the national flag carrier PIA struggling to put together a fleet that could continue operation to European Union countries after the 27 member bloc slammed operational restrictions on most of the airline’s jets because of safety reasons. PIA had to lease two aircraft for continuing its European operation.