Tussle between CAA, Shaheen worsens as airline’s two flights stop

Shaheen Airline International (SAI) has claimed that the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has not abided by the orders of Sindh High Court.

The airline made the claim after the CAA stopped Shaheen Air flights NL768 and NL892 operating from Lahore to Muscat (LHE-MCT) and Lahore to Canton (LHE-CAN) despite court orders.

“This move from CAA is unwelcoming and is solely intended to disrupt SAI scheduled flights, which will create difficulties for our passengers,” SAI Director Marketing Zohaib Hassan said in a statement.

The Sindh High Court had earlier suspended the implementation of CAA’s 13 July 2018 directive, in which the regulator tried to stop all international operations of Shaheen Air except for Saudi Arabia. Despite the court's order, the CAA issued letter on 19 July 2018 from its Airport Manager at Lahore saying that international flights of Shaheen Air are still stopped, the company claimed.

The official added that the company is religiously acting upon the payment plan and intends to settle all impending dues according to it.

Meanwhile, the CAA claimed that SAI is misinterpreting the Sindh High Court’s orders and not paying its dues as committed, reported local media. CAA also puts the blame on SAI, saying that it is misleading the public and passengers regarding its operations.

The CAA stopped two SAI flights on Thursday over the dispute of Rs1.5 billion arrears between the Civil Aviation Authority and the Shaheen Air International.