ISLAMABAD: In a bid to ‘compensate’ the masses for recent crisis, Pakistan International Airlines Wednesday reduced fares for its domestic and international flights.
According to an official statement, the fares for Karachi-Islamabad-Karachi and Karachi-Lahore-Karachi will start from Rs7,500, while return tickets for Umrah passengers will begin at Rs54,500 for people living in Lahore and Islamabad, and Rs44,500 for all those travelling from Karachi.
“The national carrier has taken the decision to reduce its fares, in order to facilitate its valued customers and stabilise the unrealistic rise in airfares caused by the recent strike,” the statement added.
The airfares in the country reached the highest point, when the employees of national-flag carrier locked down all the offices and flight operations of PIA in protest against the proposed privatisation of the national entity.
One-way tickets that were available in the range of Rs8,000-9,000 prior to February 1 are now in the range of Rs18,000-19,000. The private airlines have also reduced their fares from as high as Rs27,000 to Rs18,000-19,000 because of the CCP inquiry.
The CCP, which regulates anti-competitive behaviour in the country, on Thursday said that it has taken note of the substantial increase in airfares by private airlines following the disruption to PIA’s flight operations.
