Outrageous prices being charged for UK flights despite govt promise

LONDON: The British High Commission, alongside the government of Pakistan, has planned multiple special flights to repatriate British nationals stranded in Pakistan but The News has discovered that exorbitant prices are being charged for these flights, further complicating the situation.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari had announced that the maximum one-way fare from any location of Pakistan to London would be £765 and the maximum price for a flight to Manchester and Birmingham would be £750.

Despite these orders, travel agents are charging much more from unsuspecting customers who are in desperate need to go back to their loved ones.

The passengers who had booked tickets for flights which got cancelled due to the airspace closure were promised that their bookings would be accommodated into new flights when they operate. However, this has not been the case as the overwhelming majority of passengers have been asked to book new tickets and have been left in uncertainty regarding the tickets they had already booked and paid for.

Mehboob Ahmed, who has been running a travel agency for over 30 years in London, said that he had been receiving several complaints from passengers who claimed that they were being charged significantly more than the price set by the minister for overseas Pakistanis.

"An old lady from Kilburn paid £1,500 for a one-way journey. This is double the price promised. Several other customers have been asked to pay a difference of around £750 after they had already booked a ticket to fly on these special flights," said Ahmed.

He mentioned that in regular cirumstances, the price of a one-way ticket was close to £300-350 but even after the special flights were priced double by the government, the policy was not being abided by.

He said: "Three flights were going on the 28th of March but the customers were asked to buy new tickets and then they were cancelled. The price was £1,200 for a return ticket. Some travel agents bought flights from PIA at £800 per flight but sold it for upwards of £1,500 to the most desperate travellers. I've never seen anything like this."

A customer replied to Zulfiqar Bukhari on Twitter saying: "Can't trust PIA one bit. My parents who are 70 years old, both at risk and take medication are stranded in Pakistan Islamabad. Had 2 PIA flights cancelled on the 28/03/20 and 05/04/20. They should have been put on a charter flight! Emails sent..."

Another Twitter user said, "The problem is when I wanted to book, certain agents held all the economy flights. I only had the choice to book the economy plus [class] at [Rs225,000]. 2 hours [after] I booked [the ticket], the other agents especially Gerrys released the economy seat at half the price. Now I’m stuck coz of ticket hoarding."

The News has seen bills from travel agents charging around £1,500 for a one-way flight to London.

Earlier, Pakistan Airlines Pilots' Association (PALPA) had issued directives to their members not to fly the special flights because of lax standards of procedures but the government and PALPA reached an agreement. It was decided that flights would operate only "upon satisfaction of the captain" and that the airlines would "not be held responsible", according to the minutes of the meeting released.

When contacted, PIA’s UK country manager said: "The UK fare is £820 one way. The price is higher because we are taking 120-150 passengers in a 300 seater aircraft which is resulting in extremely high costs. A 24-hour stay in a hotel is included in the fare.

"The people who have been charged more might have booked economy plus which is why they were charged a higher fare. We are doing everything we can to facilitate all our passengers during this time. Once passengers arrive at the airport they will be taken to a hotel free of cost and will be tested. Negative patients will be let go while positive patients will be retained by NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) and sent to a hospital."