THIS is with reference to the report “PIA sale stalls as lone bid ‘too low to consider’” (Nov 1). The fact that the lone bid of Rs10 billion was Rs75 billion short of the base price of Rs85 billion fixed by the Privat-isation Commission has compelled me to narrate my horrible air travel story.

Our group of four friends, all in their 70s, travelled to Gilgit via PK605 on Oct 8 for a pleasure trip, which turned into a nightmare. When we landed at the Gilgit airport, we were told that the luggage of all the passengers­ — about 70 of them — on that flight had not been loaded at the airport in Islamabad.

One can imagine the extreme distress and anxiety this negligent attitude of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) must have caused to all the passengers, especially those travelling for tourism. All the four of us have multiple medical conditions.

We were stranded at the airport without our medicines and necessary medical equipment. We had not foreseen this turn of events. All our clothes, particularly the warmer ones, were lying at the airport in Islamabad.

Quite a few local and foreign tourists were in tears due to this fiasco, for they had no clue what to do next. A British-Pakistani woman had travelled all the way from Manchester with her young daughter to show her the majestic sights in Hunza. We forgot our own worries when we saw her plight. The case of most visitors not belonging to Gilgit was no different.

After a delay of nearly an hour, the airport manager turned up with the excuse that it was the fault of the airline’s staff in Islamabad, and assured everyone that the next Islamabad-Skardu flight would bring the missing luggage.

After returning from Gilgit, I filed a complaint (Token No 20241018108533) with the airline, and received a confir-mation that the complaint had been well noted at the highest level, and that the matter would be investigated. However, I am still hoping that something will come out of this promised investigation.

Sajjad Hussain
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2024