IATA has welcomed the inclusion of a plan to establish an Economic Oversight Cell as part of Pakistan’s comprehensive National Aviation Policy (NAP) 2019. This was IATA’s recommendation to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to ensure better economic oversight in the policy framework and reduction in aviation taxes and charges to support industry growth.
The Economic Oversight Cell will, as part of its mandate, ensure the balance between stakeholders’ interests, particularly as the involvement of the private sector in the operations and management of airports is expected to increase.
The PCAA has also accepted IATA’s recommendation to reduce aviation taxes and charges with the elimination of the domestic embarkation fee and domestic security charge (500 and 100 Pakistani Rupees respectively) with effect from 1 June 2019.
Despite the positive changes to the NAP 2019, IATA has expressed concerns on the policy guidelines for international operations and data submission for tracking of service quality. “We are recommending that the PCAA aligns the policy guidelines for international operations to the Worldwide Slot Guidelines, and to reconsider the requirement for airlines to submit data on a monthly basis for the tracking of the quality of services,” said Mustafa Khan, IATA Country Manager, Pakistan. “We will continue to engage the PCAA in the implementation of NAP 2019 and the development of the associated guidelines and rules to ensure that they are aligned with international standards and industry best practices.”
