PIA privatisation plan revived after airline posts rare profit

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will issue a fresh call for expressions of interest (EOIs) next week for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the Privatisation Ministry announced on Friday. The move comes shortly after the state-owned carrier reported its first annual profit in over 20 years.

The government plans to offload between 51 and 100 per cent of its stake in the airline, which has long been burdened by heavy debt and financial losses. The sale is part of broader efforts to overhaul struggling state-owned enterprises under a $7 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A previous attempt to privatise PIA failed after only one bid was received—well below the minimum price of over $300 million. Officials say lessons have been learned from that process.

According to a statement issued by the Privatisation Ministry, the Privatisation Commission board has approved new pre-qualification criteria for potential investors, paving the way for a new round of bidding.

To address concerns raised during last year’s process, the government has taken on most of PIA’s legacy debt, shifting it from the airline’s books to its own.

Muhammad Ali, the Prime Minister’s adviser on privatisation, said last week that all issues flagged by potential buyers in the previous round had now been resolved.

In a major turnaround, PIA posted a net profit of Rs26.2 billion for the year 2024—its first annual profit since 2003. The airline also recorded an operational profit of Rs9.3 billion, according to the company’s latest financial statement.

Separately, PIA has announced a new direct flight route between Lahore and Baku, which will commence on April 20.

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