Over two dozen pilots of the Pakistan International Airlines have handed in their resignations, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Aviation was told on Monday.

The revelation was made by Saira Bano, a member of the committee from GDA, during a meeting on Monday. PIA’s chief commercial officer, who was present in the meeting, confirmed the news but added that the resignations have not been arrested yet.

Saira Bano said that the pilots who earned around Rs800,000 per month had been subjected to an additional tax of Rs350,000 per year.

The commercial officer also told that PIA has requested the government for 250 new pilots to be hired but no reply has been received so far. The officer also added that new inductions have been banned by the Supreme Court.

In December 2022, the top court had rejected petitions asking for 200 new pilots to be hired by the national flag carrier. The ban has been in place since 2018.

In last year’s proceedings, the court had asked PIA how the salaries of the new pilots would be managed when the it had already been fighting deficits for the past many years.