PAA Announces 50% Petrol Cut, Grounding 60% of Vehicles and Cutting Staff Salaries

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) has begun implementing the Prime Minister’s austerity measures, starting with a 50% reduction in the monthly petrol allowance for its employees. A formal notification regarding the fuel cut has already been issued, ARY News reported. 

According to the PAA’s Director of HR, Abid Ali, additional measures include:

Vehicle Grounding: 60% of underutilized official vehicles will be grounded immediately.

Salary Deductions: A two-day salary deduction will be applied to all employees earning up to Rs. 300,000.

Spending Bans: A complete ban on the purchase of new vehicles is in effect until June 2026. Furthermore, all foreign visits and official dinners for PAA officials have been suspended.

The PAA further announced that all official meetings must now be conducted online. To reduce operational costs, only 50% of staff will perform duties in person at the headquarters and airports.

Under the new plan, a four-day work week will be operational, with three days off. All departments have been instructed to submit a staff rotation plan to the HR department. However, mandatory or essential departments will continue to function via a shift system.

In the education sector, all schools under the PAA will observe holidays from March 16 to March 31, while college classes will transition to an online format.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has announced a wide-ranging set of austerity measures across federal and provincial governments to address the ongoing economic challenges and ensure relief for the public.

Fuel Restrictions for Government Vehicles
Under the new directives, all government departments will face a 50 percent reduction in petrol usage for official vehicles for the next two months, though ambulances and public transport buses will remain exempt. In addition, 60 percent of departmental vehicles will be taken off the road, and purchases of vehicles, furniture, air conditioners, and other non-essential items have been suspended.

Salary Reductions and Suspensions
The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced salary reductions and suspensions. Cabinet members, ministers, advisers, and special assistants will forego salaries for the next two months, while members of Parliament will face a 25 percent pay cut.

Senior officers in Grade 20 and above, with salaries exceeding Rs300,000, will see two days’ pay deducted, which will be directed toward public relief efforts. Government departments have also been instructed to reduce all non-salary expenses by 20 percent.

Work-from-Home and Office Operations
In a bid to conserve fuel, the government has directed that teleconferencing and online meetings take precedence, and only 50 percent of staff in government and private sectors will report to offices, except in essential services.

Offices will remain open four days a week, with one extra holiday added. However, PM Shehabaz Sharif said that this does not apply to banks or critical sectors such as industry and agriculture. Official seminars, conferences, dinners, and Iftar parties will now be held in government premises, and outdoor gatherings have been banned.

Education Sector Measures
All schools will receive two weeks’ holidays starting this weekend, while higher education institutions will immediately begin online classes to ensure continuity of learning.

Warning to Hoarders and Profiteers
The PM Shehbaz Sharif further warned hoarders and profiteers in petrol, diesel, and other essential commodities that strict legal action would be taken. All provincial governments have been instructed to implement these measures efficiently to maximize their impact.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan emphasized that these steps are temporary and precautionary, aimed at easing the burden on citizens while ensuring efficient use of public resources during the current economic crisis.