Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has reported a financial loss of Rs38 billion for the first quarter of 2023, a staggering 171% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
The national airline’s earnings for the first quarter of 2023 stood at Rs61 billion, overshadowed by the substantial losses, primarily driven by the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar, contributing to a Rs21 billion loss.
Rising oil prices and increasing interest rates also contributed to the airline’s financial struggles. Moreover, PIA’s operational expenses surged by Rs15 billion, reaching Rs43 billion due to administrative oversights.
PIA has also been impacted by several bird strikes, with 29 incidents reported within the past five months at domestic airports. These incidents have led to substantial financial losses, with ten bird strikes reported in May 2023 alone.
Most of these bird strikes occurred at Karachi and Lahore airports, damaging seven aircraft. Notably, an Airbus-320 operating as Flight PK-310 from Karachi to Quetta was struck by a bird shortly after takeoff, damaging six engine blades.
Statistics released by PIA administration revealed that bird strike incidents occurred in various airports, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Peshawar, Gilgit, and Multan, in May. Out of these, most incidents took place at Karachi and Lahore airports, with 16 strikes.
Bird strikes also affected PIA planes such as Jeddah and Bahrain in international locations. Despite causing damage to seven aircraft, 22 incidents resulted in no harm to the planes.
 reveals a concerning Rs38 billion loss in Q1 2023, attributed largely to the rupee's depreciation against the dollar, rising operational costs, and a series of damaging bird strikes. Discover more details about PIA's challenging quarter.){kind=link}