ISLAMABAD: According to sources within the Privatisation Commission, Uprise Group has entered the bid to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which is being led by seasoned aviation executive Tabassum Pardesi.

Among Pardesi's accomplishments is the launching of Skywise Airline in South Africa in 2014, which made her the first female airline owner. Since then, she has been instrumental in creating the Uprise Group, which consists of Uprise Markets, Uprise Africa, and Uprise Aviation divisions.

Pardesi's brief career at PIA as Director of Customer Services in 2017 came to an end after just four months because, according to her resignation letter, she was not happy with the management's unwillingness to make the required adjustments.

Pardesi made a number of recommendations in her resignation that were intended to improve PIA's standing and operational effectiveness. These suggestions included putting operational safety and customer service first, reassessing the strategies' financial viability, streamlining organisational structure, articulating a clear vision and turnaround plan, creating a comprehensive fleet plan, looking for funding injection with reasonable projections, addressing workplace toxicity, enhancing internal communication, and utilising the experience of aviation investors.

The letter that is attached to The News clarifies the difficulties that PIA's management and operations are facing and emphasises the necessity of extensive reforms in the aviation industry.In the meantime, the Scheme of Arrangement between Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIA) and PIA Holding Company Limited (HoldCo) was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

The Aviation Division, PIA, and HoldCo were directed to take the required corporate and regulatory actions to execute the Scheme after the Federal Cabinet earlier this year approved PIA's legal segregation strategy and the Scheme. The plan was also approved by PIA's creditors and shareholders last month.

In the restructure, PIA's non-aviation-related business will be transferred from PIA to HoldCo, and the company's core aviation business would be legally separated from its non-core operations. Approval of the programme makes it possible for HoldCo to acquire a 100 percent stake in PIA and to issue and allot shares to eligible PIA shareholders concurrently.