PIA halts Kandahar-Quetta flights

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN International Airlines (PIA) has stopped flights between Kandahar and Quetta apparently due to fewer passengers using the aging fleet, officials said on Thursday.

PIA initiated it flights on the Kandahar-Quetta route five months back, with two flights carrying passengers in a week.

Kandahar governor’s spokesman Javed Faisal said PIA had stopped its operations before reducing the two flights to one every Thursday.

He said the service was part of a bilateral agreement and the government should discuss the halt with Pakistani officials.

He said PIA would take passengers on the route twice a week, but later operated only one flight a week before bringing the service to a complete halt.

Faisal said PIA officials had said nothing about the matter, but the halt could be a result of a lack of interest by people to use the service for being expensive.

A Sky Aryana employee who sells flight tickets, said he would sell 10 tickets for PIA per week to passengers going to Quetta from Kandahar, but the sale has dropped by a half.

He said a passenger would pay 5,800 afghanis fare to Quetta and 6900 afs to Karachi, but PIA increased the fare to 7200afs and 8500afs respectively.

Kandahar Airport chief Ahmadullah Faizi said they had not been officially informed about a halt to PIA flights. He said PIA planes had turned older and could only take 50 people in a flight.

However, a resident of Karez Bazaar in Kandahar City, Hajji Hikmatullah, said traders had benefited a lot from PIA flights. He said PIA first increased fare and then stopped its flights — both actions were in violation of the promises.

myn/ma

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