PIA, Pakistan’s national airline, has implemented a policy forbidding its pilots and flight attendants from fasting during their on-flight duty days throughout the holy month of Ramadan. This decision is based on medical advice, which highlights the risks of dehydration, fatigue, and reduced alertness associated with fasting while performing operational duties. Pilots and cabin crew members have been instructed not to observe fasting while on duty for both international and domestic flights.
Both the Corporate Safety Management and Air Crew Medical Centre have recommended Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that pilots and cabin crew members should refrain from fasting during flights.
“The PIA’s top management, based on these recommendations, has issued compliance orders to the pilots and cabin crew personnel with immediate effect,” an official of the airline said as quoted by news agency PTI.
“The recommendations have specifically stated that when a person is fasting, he faces dehydration and issues of laziness and sleep,” the official said.
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Last month, the investigation report on the Pakistan International Airlines plane crash near Jinnah International Airport in May 2020, which claimed the lives of 101 people, including 99 passengers, concluded that “human error” by the two pilots was the cause of the incident. The report had also held the PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority responsible for not having clear procedures on whether pilots should fast during the month of Ramadan while on duty.
The board held the failure of proper judgement by the two pilots while landing as the main reason for the fatal crash. Last week, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expedited the privatisation process of the country’s ailing PIA, according to media reports.
PIA and losses
As per a report by the Express Tribune newspaper, in 2022, PIA stood as the country’s third-highest public sector loss-making entity, necessitating a monthly expenditure of Pakistani ₹11.5 billion solely for debt servicing.
According to the PIA’s financial report, the airline suffered a loss of ₹60.71 billion in the first six months of 2023 because of the depreciation of the rupee against the USD, as reported by PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
