Overview
- The airline confirmed removing SAEP President Abdullah Jadoon and Secretary General Awais Jadoon after they missed personal hearings on November 4 and 5 under an inquiry launched in 2024.
- SAEP maintains engineers are refusing clearances on safety grounds, denies striking, and plans to challenge the terminations in court.
- PIA characterizes the coordinated refusal to issue certificates as an illegal strike under the Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, warns of legal action, and says SAEP lacks legal standing.
- Flight delays and cancellations continued nationwide as a private maintenance firm brought in by PIA struggled to keep up with workloads.
- Engineers cite an eight‑year pay freeze, shortages of spare parts, and stressful conditions, with a protest ongoing for more than two months including black armbands and withheld clearances.