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An Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) audit report has revealed that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) caused a loss of Rs9.43 billion to the national exchequer over six years by issuing free and discounted tickets.
Between 2011 and 2016, the airline distributed more than 258,000 tickets at no cost and sold another 116,000 tickets at discounts of up to 95 percent. According to the audit, many of these concessions were granted to people who had no official link to PIA.
The report noted that the heavily discounted tickets were issued without the approval of the airline’s chairman or managing director. Despite repeated reminders, no meeting was called to address the issue until 2023. The audit recommended that PIA immediately discontinue its free ticket policy.
A PIA spokesperson responded by clarifying that the practice had already been stopped in 2018 following a Supreme Court order. The spokesperson explained that the tickets had originally been distributed under an agent incentive program designed to boost sales.
The spokesperson further stated that the PIA audit observations are nearly a decade old and are being reviewed by the Departmental Accounts Committee under the relevant ministry. They also suggested that renewed focus on the audit may be linked to pressure from certain interest groups.
