Supreme Court of Pakistan has summoned the Director General of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over second-rate services provided at the airports.
The court also ordered Managing Director (MD) of Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) to appear before court regarding luggage mishandling and poor services being provided at all airports.
CAA and Airports
The court took a suo moto notice of the poor services at the airports and passenger complaints and ordered both officials to appear before court.
The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, previously issued a warning to Maria Jabeen, a deputy director at CAA, that if the situation doesn’t improve, court will summon DG CAA.
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Chief Justice said to Maria Jabeen;
If we receive any complaints, we will summon the DG CAA.
Poor Services at the Airports
Chief Justice seemed aware of the situation at the airports as he identified the duties that are being neglected by officials. He said that customs officials are not performing their duties well as porters are doing all the work of carrying cargo around.
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CJP also noticed the damage to passenger luggage during movement at the airports as he said “sometimes, passengers’ luggage is broken on arrival”. The bench also noticed the prolonged time that airstairs and luggage take to arrive and directed authorities to improve the situation.
CAA responded by saying that any complaints can be registered through telephone helpline or online portal.
Talking about the overall condition of airports, Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that airports make the very first impression on foreigners. If airports are portraying a good picture, the whole country gives a good picture and vice versa. He said;
People prefer to land in California since the impression given by the New York airport isn’t good.
The hearing of the case has been postponed till Saturday 17th February.
Via Dawn
The airport taxes are the highest in the world on Pakistani airports. This results in huge ticket costs from Pakistan. For example tax on economy is Rs. 15000 and on Business is 28000 rupees alone