GILGIT, July 31: The people of Skardu and Gilgit have criticised the decision of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to deduct Rs600 for every confirmed ticket and Rs300 for every unconfirmed ticket as charges following cancellation of flights connecting the two cities with the rest of the country.

They say the charges are unjustified because it is the airline which cancells the flights and not the people. The PIA has recently increased the fare between Islamabad and the Northern Areas, they point out.

They said that passengers were informed through the PIA reservation offices in Rawalpindi, Gilgit and Skardu that all flights were subject to good weather.

They say that after the cancellation of flights by PIA authorities the passengers often catch buses to reach their respective destinations as they cannot wait until the weather becomes favourable to avail of their tickets.

They have demanded of the PIA authorities to withdraw this condition. They said the deduction should be made applicable only to those passengers who wilfully miss their flights or do not wish to avail it even during good weather.

They claimed that it was on rare occasions that a passenger with an okayed ticket missed his/her flight. The airline should bear responsibility for a cancelled flight and not the passengers.