Does the Controversy Around Fly Jinnah’s Entry in Pakistan Make Any Sense?

Fly Jinnah, an upcoming airline has revealed its visual brand identity and the domestic airlines and aviation experts are wary of its plans.

Today we will discuss if the concerns shown by the industry are meaningful or they are just worried about new and upcoming competition.

“It is good to see another airline entering [the airline industry of] Pakistan,” said an industry official while requesting anonymity. He opined, “It would create opportunities for people associated with the aviation industry and enhance [the] competition, which leads to improvement of services too.”

He added, “However, we also have to see if it is actually Pakistani in its DNA. Would it hurt local airlines and their international partners by taking the business from Pakistani airlines?”

According to a news article published in Dawn in 2020, Pakistan’s national exchequer lost approximately Rs. 107 billion in 2017 due to open skies/liberal traffic rights arrangement with certain countries, including the UAE, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.

Sources in Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said that Fly Jinnah was in the process of completing air operator certificate requirements, which was a lengthy process.

They said that it would subsequently start its operations in Pakistan.

The main reason local companies have been complaining about Fly Jinnah is its association with UAE-based airline Air Arabia, they revealed and went on to say that it would add to their miseries and would take away their business.

But according to the company, Fly Jinnah was incorporated in Pakistan as an entity that is majority-owned by Pakistan’s Lakson Group.

According to official sources, Air Arabia only holds minority shares in the new airline. Once the operation begin, it would be the fourth private national airline of the country.

Apart from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Blue, Serene Air, and Air Sial have been operating in Pakistan.

According to media reports, Alvir Airways also has a license but its aim is to promote tourism and promote regional integration. Meanwhile, Jet Green is also trying to get a license while Q-Airlines was recently allowed to start operations.

“[Fly Jinnah is] established to contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy by creating new jobs and supporting core sectors such as tourism and hospitality,” reads Fly Jinnah’s sponsored content in the media including its sister company Express Tribune.

An official of a local airline claimed that Fly Jinnah’s main operations would be run from Sharjah, where Arabia’s head office is located, however we could not verify this independently. To the contrary it appears that Fly Jinnah has recently taken possession of a large office in Karachi.

Industry experts say the decision to allow Air Arabia to enter Pakistan’s aviation industry would see local airlines struggling as the former would see their international frequency and slots increase.

However, with a mere minority holding, one may wonder if the concerns raised by other local airlines are valid or it’s the outcome of sheer desperation?

Experts also said that foreign airlines were taking billions of dollars annually from Pakistan without paying taxes as Pakistani airlines pay in Pakistan. Fly Jinnah, along with other local airlines, will take market share from foreign airlines and retain precious foreign exchange in the country. Strong local airlines like Fly Jinnah are the need of the hour, experts added.

“The airlines pay taxes in their country of origin where their head offices are. In that sense, Pakistan as a country should facilitate its own airlines. The aviation industry is not just any other industry that you bring as investment and competition to improve services. There has to be reciprocity of slots and frequencies, otherwise, local airlines would die eventually,” the source added.

A source in the aviation industry said that foreign airlines had remitted around $5.7 billion from Pakistan in 2021.

This is essentially an opportunity for local airlines like Fly Jinnah and others to tap and retain the revenue with in the geographical boundaries of Pakistan.

CEO PIA, Arshad Malik, also has written letters to the Prime Minister twice while representing all the domestic airlines, who also share similar concerns. In the letters, the PIA has requested a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan and concerned authorities in an effort to block the upcoming operations of Fly Jinnah.

If we look at other airlines for instance, they hold similar kind of shareholding, in fact one airline has minority local stakes while majority is held by international entities.

In such scenarios, the concerns of other airlines upon the entry of Fly Jinnah seems more like desperation.

The matter of the fact is that allowing Fly Jinnah to start operations with Air Arabia in Pakistan would help bring foreign direct investment, increase competition, bring ticket fares down, and improve service.

And above all, it will bring in the international experience to Pakistan at an expense of minoroty of foreign ownership.

The entire controversy revolving around the assumption that Air Arabia has a control of shareholding in the airline, but that is entirely false.

With the majority stake owned by a Pakistani company, the entire debate seems to be misplaced.

Once the airline starts operations, more details will come to light hopefully resolving the aviation industry’s concerns surrounding the new entrant.

A top official of Fly Jinnah was contacted to give the company’s version. The response will be incorporated in the story as soon as it is received.



Get Alerts

Follow ProPakistani to get latest news and updates.


ProPakistani Community

Join the groups below to get latest news and updates.



>