4 aircraft grounded: Restart operations or face sanctions, PCAA warns Serene Air

KARACHI: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has issued a stern warning to Serene Air, demanding the airline restore operations of its grounded aircraft or face possible sanctions, including suspension of international operations.

The details revealed that four out of Serene Air’s seven aircraft are currently non-operational, causing significant disruptions to flight schedules and passenger inconvenience.

When contacted, DG PCAA Nadir Shafi Dar confirmed that the airline had been issued a show-cause notice and was required to revise its domestic flight schedule due to reduced operations.

Flight delays: Air Blue and Serene Air issued show- cause notices

“We are closely monitoring the airline,” said Dar, who emphasized that mounting passenger complaints regarding disturbed flight schedules prompted the PCAA’s action. In a meeting with Serene Air’s management, the authority directed the airline’s CEO to ensure that the grounded fleet becomes operational this month.

Replying to a question, Dar said: “Yes, we will consider suspending the international operations of Serene Air, if they didn’t make its grounded aircraft operational this month.” However, Serene Air’s CEO AVM Muhammad Safdar Khan (Retd), denied receiving any show-cause notice from the PCAA. He acknowledged meeting with the Director General on October 23, 2024, where he explained that four aircraft were unserviceable due to engine issues and it was beyond the airline’s control.

According to Khan, the maintenance workshops for Boeing 737 engines are experiencing extensive backlogs, with waiting times extending beyond two months.

“We have sent our four engines to Finland, and we expect one of the aircraft to resume operations in coming days,” Khan explained. He expressed confidence that the airline would return to full operational strength within the next three months.

Despite these challenges, Khan revealed ambitious expansion plans for Serene Air, including the induction of wide-body aircraft to its fleet within the next three to five years, and also highlighted that Serene Air stood out as the only regional airline that avoided layoffs during the post-Covid financial crisis. Meanwhile, DG PCAA maintained that failure to comply with the directives could result in stern action, signaling a potential escalation in regulatory oversight especially after the long-awaited split of the PCAA into three different entities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024