Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) has increased by 30 percent in the first six months of 2019, according to a report from the Aviation Division.

“From January to June of the current calendar year, the national flag carrier achieved a breakthrough,” said the report.

The government has taken several measures to make PIA a profitable institution. To that end, the Aviation Division had chalked out a business model to deal with the losses (worth Rs. 450 billion) and turn a profit. In order to achieve that, the administration focused on both income generation and cost reduction.

PIA started operating on several profitable routes including Sialkot-Sharjah, Lahore-Muscat, Islamabad-Doha, Sialkot-Paris, Multan-Sharjah, Sialkot-Barcelona, Peshawar-Sharjah, and Peshawar-Al-Ain. According to the report, these routes played a significant role in the improvement in revenues.

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The airline has also brought back two of its grounded aircraft which will bring in an estimated Rs. 6 billion in revenue for the flag carrier.

The aviation division also devised the National Aviation Policy 2019 that included several unique policy measures. It issued new tourism promotion and regional integration (TPRI) licenses to bolster tourism and regional connectivity, states the report.

Other measures that turned around PIA’s condition include rehabilitation of runways, taxiways, and aprons at Saidu Sharif, Rawalakot, Chitral, and Muzaffarabad (AJK) airports.

The Aviation Division also started the process of separating the regulatory and service provider functions of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to improve efficiency in aviation activities.

The division also claims to have created 3,200 job opportunities.