According to sources in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the prices of international tickets will go down after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to waive the Federal Excise Duty (FED). This was reported by the state-run news service APP, which cited PIA.
The waiver on PIA Fares, which was given because the Pakistani government asked for it, only applies to foreign flights and is expected to save travelers a lot of money on their tickets.
According to the report, PIA sources stated that people PIA Fares to places like the US could save up to Rs350,000 and people flying to Africa and the Middle East could save up to Rs10.55,000.
Up to Rs210,000 could be saved by people going to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East.
There are some exceptions, though. The waiver does not cover domestic plane travel; that will still be watched by the FED.
Notably, the 2024 federal budget had previously put an extra Rs56 billion in FED on flights. This change partly eases that burden for foreign flights.
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the national flag carrier PIA said that plans have been finalized for the airline to resume trips to Paris. The flight service will start on January 10, 2025.
The representative said that at first, PIA will fly to Paris from Islamabad twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays at convenient times.
The flight plan has been set in stone with the comfort of passengers in mind. At 11:30 a.m., a plane will leave Islamabad and arrive in Paris by 4 p.m. The trip back will leave Paris at 6 p.m. and get to Islamabad at 5 a.m.
