Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has decided to collect outstanding dues of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) directly from the national flag carrier’s passengers. The CAA has decided to collect charges directly from PIA passengers and the decision was conveyed by the aviation authority’s finance director to PIA CFO. State in a communiqué that the outstanding dues to be collected are upto Rs125 billion and the amount would be collected directly owing to financial crunch. The decision to directly collect charges was made during a meeting of the CAA executive committee on May 04, 2021. The authority would directly collect security charges and embarkation fees and passengers would be issued tokens or receipts for payment. The PIA staffers could only allow passengers to board a plane after verifying that the amount has been paid. In July last year, PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik requested the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to waive its charges to help the airline get through the unprecedented aviation crisis brought on by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In a letter written to the CAA director general, he said the aviation industry is passing through the worst of the crises it has faced in its history as the situation is going from bad to worse against all previous expectations. “Unfortunately, even after surviving for three months in Corona crisis, the airline industry is under immense stress due to challenging future outlook,” reads the letter, adding many airlines have gone bankrupt and laid off their employees due to the crisis. Arshad Malik said PIA has made all-out efforts to remain afloat against all odds and has operated a substantial number of relief flights to utilize its resources in the absence of a regular schedule.