PIA Flight PK-704 Technical Fault, Passengers Redirected, Fleet Grounded

As per details, PIA’s PK-704 flight developed a technical fault in landing gear while flying to Islamabad from Istanbul airport.

Passengers of the flight were accommodated on the Turkish Airlines flight, while the PIA engineers’ team departed for Turkiye to resolve the fault.

Currently, the plane is grounded at Istanbul Airport.

Earlier in January it was reported that nine planes of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) were grounded due to a “shortage of spare parts”.

Sources privy to the development said that out of 31 planes in the fleet, nine aircraft have been grounded due to the non-availability of spare parts. The grounded aircraft includes five Airbus-320s, three Boeing-777, and one ATR craft.

Uncertainty persisted about the future of the national airline as it is mostly relying on the State Bank of Pakistan, sources claimed, adding that leasing companies have termed Pakistan’s CCC rating against business policies.