Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik on Monday said that the national flag carrier reduced per aircraft employees ratio to 260 from 550 in 2017 as part of reforms.

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In a statement, he said that the best international airlines maintain their staff strength per plane at 200-250, and added that the reforms process in PIA would continue.

He expressed confidence that the arrival of new aircraft in the PIA fleet in 2022 would further reduce the employees’ ratio per aircraft to 220.

The airline management introduced a voluntary separation scheme and took disciplinary action against fake-degree holders, which created vacancies, the PIA CEO added.

The statement read, “Around 1,900 PIA employees opted for voluntary separation, 837 faced termination due to fake degrees and 1,000 ghost employees were shown the door.” Besides this, it added that the national flag carrier also initiated action against 1,100 employees for violating rules and discipline and committing corruption.

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“The PIA will save around Rs8 billion annually with a reduction of its staff strength,” the CEO said, adding that the key elements of the reforms process were ensuring discipline.