Only one on board as PIA flight for 370 passengers departs for Manchester

The PIA aircraft headed for Manchester had only one passenger who hailed from Gujrat. Photo: File

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) set a new record as it took a flight to Manchester with only one passenger on board Sunday.

PIA turned itself into a chartered flight as it only took a passenger hailing from Gujrat to Manchester. The passenger was the only one aboard the plane with a capacity of 371 people apart from the crew.

The news of the flight comes as the PIA is hoping to cut down staff to turn the national carrier into a profit making entity.

Recently, the PIA launched a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its employees and, so far, 2,000 employees have applied for it.

The PIA spokesperson had said that the reduction in the workforce via an honourable separation scheme, with an attractive package, was crucial for the airlines to execute its business plan.

“The response was very encouraging and we reduced nearly 20% of our regular workforce,” said the spokesperson.

He said that the PIA will save around Rs2.5 billion from the iterations and the payback on investment will be two years