PIA's Sharjah-Turbat fares 'are exorbitant'

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By Nissar Hoath, Staff Reporter



Abu Dhabi: Members of the Baloch community in the UAE have demanded that Pakistan International Airlines reduce its fares and extra luggage charges for the Sharjah-Turbat route.

The demand was made at a dinner hosted by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to mark the resumption of air services between the UAE and Balochistan after a gap of four years.

Attended by about 30 community members and the PIA Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Manager, Aijaz A. Seddiqi, the dinner was dominated by floods of complaints from guests.

Ill-treatment claims

According to some passengers, particularly lab-ourers and farmers, are ill-treated by PIA staff at UAE airports when heading home.

The airline resumed its services between Sharjah and Turbat in the Makran division of Balochistan province on June 11 with a small aircraft.

The air services between the south-western province of Pakistan and UAE began in 1995, but were suspended twice in 1998 and 2001.

Seddiqi promised all the grievances of the community would be addressed and their problems solved with their cooperation of the airline.

After explaining the technical problems preventing passengers carrying extra luggage on the small aircraft, community members agreed to cooperate with the PIA to make the new service a success.

It was also decided the airline make the civil aviation authorities in Pakistan expand Turbat airport's runway so bigger aircraft can land and take off there.

The community in the UAE which numbers about 100,000 has been demanding the resumption of services since 2001.

However, according to a survey, very few people are happy with the new service.

They find the fare very expensive compared to the airline's other home destinations, such as Karachi, which costs only Dh560 for a return ticket in economy class with a 50kg free luggage allowance.

The airline has fixed a Dh700 return fare for economy class and Dh820 for economy plus class on the Sharjah-Turbat route.

Free luggage allowance is 20kg for economy class and 25kg for economy plus on this route.

The guests asked the airline to reduce the air fare as the distance between Sharjah and Turbat is far less than that between Dubai/Abu Dhabi and Karachi.

Other demands included the luggage allowance being increased to 30kg, reducing the excess luggage charge and the posting of a Baloch employee at Sharjah airport to assist passengers.

"The airline's country manager has accepted all these demands and promised to fulfil them. But we were surprised everything was different than what we were promised. Our poor people find it very expensive and difficult to use this service. It might be cheaper to fly via Karachi," said community member Anwar Baloch.