Overview
- A Lahore–Jeddah Boeing 777 carrying 344 passengers suffered a windshield failure at about 34,000 feet, returned to ground, and was refitted with a windshield taken from a grounded jet and reinforced with high‑speed tape, according to airline and engineering sources.
- Standard procedure to ground an aircraft for 24 hours after a windshield change was reportedly bypassed because of fleet shortages, with instructions to check the tape before each flight for 10 days.
- Sources say only 14 of PIA’s 32 aircraft are serviceable, spare parts such as windshields have not been procured for four years, and engineers have protested since Nov. 3 over parts supply and eight years of frozen pay.
- The dispute has caused dozens of cancellations and more than 125 delays; management calls the protest illegal and links it to privatization, while engineers say they support privatization and will not compromise flight safety, adding that no negotiations have begun.
- In Karachi, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori announced a youth programme and pledged funds and services for Surjani Town, as separate security and public‑service updates included a Levies probe into a Qalat killing, the arrest of a Sargodha crash suspect, and Punjab reporting 8,000+ free pediatric heart surgeries, 432 renal transplants and over 950,000 dialysis sessions.