The bidding for Pakistan International Airlines has been delayed to Oct. 31, a spokesman for the privatisation ministry said on Tuesday.

A parliamentary committee of privatisation had earlier been informed that the PIA would go under the hammer on Tuesday.

The national flag carrier is currently burdened with a debt of approximately Rs800 billion ($2.9 billion) and has received multiple government bailout packages in recent years.

The spokesman said the bidding will now take place on Oct 31 and the date has been approved by the ministry.

Two officials at the ministry had earlier told Reuters that bidding was delayed because the bidders had wanted more time to evaluate terms and conditions for the auction.

Six parties have been pre-qualified for the bidding, which included Fly Jinnah, Airblue Ltd, a consortium led by Pak Ethanol (Pvt) Ltd, a consortium led by YB Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd and Blue World City.

The government has previously said it would sell between 51-100% of the loss-making airline as part of reforms urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Last month, the Arif Habib Group chairman said that potential buyers looking to acquire PIA are interested in purchasing 75% of the shares to secure majority control.

The airline cannot be sold for three years after privatisation, Arif Habib said and added that Rs600 billion of this debt would be transferred to a holding company while the remaining Rs200 billion would be assigned to the buyer.