Overview
- By Sunday evening, sources reported nine Pakistan International Airlines flights canceled and 18 delayed by up to 10 hours on domestic and international routes.
- Affected services included Abu Dhabi–Peshawar, Dubai–Karachi and Faisalabad–Dubai, along with multiple Gilgit and Skardu sectors to and from Islamabad.
- PIA said operations comply with Civil Aviation Authority rules, attributing disruptions to technical issues, spare-part shortages and other operational factors, and rejecting claims of a strike-driven halt.
- Engineers, represented by SEAP/SAEP, allege pressure to compromise maintenance standards, cite warning letters and forced transfers, and say they will challenge actions in court and before Aircraft Engineers International.
- The dispute escalated after the Nov. 6 dismissal of SAEP’s president and secretary general, drawing support for engineers from the Air League, Officers’ Association and senior staff unions, as passengers continued to face long delays.