ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will hold the bidding for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Dec. 23, with the entire process to be broadcast live nationwide to ensure transparency, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday. 

The decision marks Islamabad’s most aggressive push in decades to reform the debt-ridden airline, which has accumulated more than $2.5 billion in losses and become a major burden on the national budget. Once regarded as one of Asia’s premier carriers, PIA has struggled with chronic mismanagement, political interference, overstaffing, mounting debt and operational issues that led to a 2020 ban on flights to the European Union and United Kingdom after a pilot licensing scandal. Privatizing the airline is also a key requirement under Pakistan’s $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program agreed in September 2024.

Last month, Sharif said Pakistan will privatize 75 percent of the national carrier, with bidding to take place among four shortlisted investor groups. 

“PIA’s bidding will take place on 23 December 2025 and will be broadcast live on all media,” Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office. 

He said the government was ensuring “transparency and merit” throughout the privatization process and added that resuming the airline’s global flight operations would ease travel for overseas Pakistanis and support the tourism sector.

“The privatization process is proceeding smoothly to restore PIA’s lost identity and to align the national airline with modern requirements,” he said.

“God willing, very soon PIA will once again live up to its tradition of being ‘Great People to Fly With,’” referring to the airline’s tagline. 

Successive governments have attempted to privatize PIA to restore financial stability, but political resistance, labor pushback and weak investor appetite previously stalled the process. Officials now say the sale is critical to reviving the national carrier’s operations, restoring international routes and easing pressure on public finances. 

A deal to sell the airline late last year fell through after a potential buyer reportedly offered just $36 million for a 60 percent stake, far below the asking price of roughly $303 million.

In July, Pakistan prequalified four investor groups for the sale: A consortium of major industrial companies, Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures; a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation with Fatima Fertilizer, The City School and Lake City Holdings; Fauji Fertilizer Company, part of a military-backed conglomerate; and Airblue, a private Pakistani airline.

In November, Pakistan’s privatization chief Muhammad Ali had said the government aimed to finalize the airline’s sale by October, but the target was missed due to delays in restructuring and valuation.