The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been granted permission by the Supreme Court (SC) to proceed with the appointment of 205 new professionals, while the recruitment of 45 others has been postponed.
A two-member SC bench comprising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha A Malik, heard the case filed by PIA, seeking approval for the recruitment of 250 individuals, including pilots, cabin crew, IT specialists, finance, and management officials.
In its verdict, the apex court allowed the recruitment of pilots, cabin crew, and IT specialists.
The court also emphasised that the recruitment process should be transparent and clear. During the proceedings, Justice Ayesha Malik questioned why the flag carrier was unable to meet its financial obligations and why it was necessary to hire more people.
Justice Ahsan remarked that the quality of services provided by PIA was below par and expressed concerns that the new recruitments would add a burden of over Rs90 million annually to the organisation.
CEO of PIA, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Amir Hayat, informed the court that the national airline had generated a profit of Rs3 billion during the last six months and that flights were operating on profitable routes.
He further mentioned that PIA was expanding its flight operations on international and domestic routes.
Justice Ijaz raised a point about the lower number of flight staff in other airlines and enquired whether the new appointments would be on a permanent or contractual basis.
The CEO responded that the recruitment would be conducted on a one-year renewable contract basis. After hearing the arguments presented by the CEO and the additional attorney general (AAG), the apex court allowed the appointment of 205 employees.
