Airfares from Islamabad to Balochistan’s capital city of Quetta are presently on the higher side due to lack of alternative options of air travel with passengers, said a federal minister. Agha Hassan Baloch, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, has urged the relevant authorities to reduce the fares of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights from the federal capital to Balochistan province. Agha Hassan has written a letter to Federal Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique and PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik to consider this request.

The minister said that ticket rates of the national flag carrier’s flights from Islamabad to Balochistan are high which is unfair to the people of Balochistan. He suggested that if the fares of flights are reduced, more people would prefer air travel and the business of the national airline would witness a boost. Agha Hassan said Balochistan-bound passengers had no option, but to travel with the PIA as no other airline was operating across the province. The minister said that in Balochistan, like other provinces, flights of private airlines like Air Blue, AirSial and others should be started to increase competition among the airlines. This would eventually improve services and give more travelling choices to passengers.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk