Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique told the National Assembly on Wednesday that government progress was made in talks to restore the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights on the US and UK routes.
During the Assembly question session, the minister also said that the government planned to re-open the Roosevelt Hotel instead of selling it, adding that the matter had been taken up with the relevant court.
“The ban on the flights to UK and Europe was imposed due to a careless statement made by the former aviation minister in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. He did not read the statement that was written down to him rather he gave his own statement regarding the fake licences of pilots,” Rafique claimed.
“The government’s top priority is to resume the PIA flights on the US and the UK routes. Positive progress has been made in this regard. We have talked to the UK and hope the route will be restored. We are also talking to Canada,” he added.
Speaking about the Roosevelt Hotel, the minister said that the quick fix to the matter was to spend a little sum of money and run the hotel. “Personally, I am against selling the Roosevelt Hotel. Investing a little money in this hotel can bring it back to good condition,” he added.
