KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a probe into the purchase of ATR-72 aircraft by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on an expensive dry lease for six years.
The FIA has decided to issue notices to all those responsible for purchasing the PIA aircraft on an expensive lease, as it caused a loss of over Rs7 billion to the national exchequer. The leases of the aircraft were approved in 2015 and are going to expire in April 2021.
According to details, three ATR planes were leased at Rs179,500 per aircraft while the two others were purchased on a dry lease of Rs172,500 per plane.
It is pertinent to mention that the PIA on December 12 had excluded ATR-72 airplanes from its fleet.
The planes were removed from the PIA fleet due to their nonprofitable operation, as the planes were hired on an expensive lease in 2015 by the then PIA administration.
