Passengers with tickets for Pakistan International Airlines have had their travel plans disrupted amid protests over alleged route-sharing plans with Turkish Airlines. Several services had to be cancelled at Islamabad airport after members of airline staff lay down on the runway in an effort to prevent planes from landing and taking off. Some workers are reported to have punctured the tyres on service vehicles.

The angry protests are being conducted by PIA staff who believe their jobs are under threat because of the proposed deal. PIA currently employs around 20,000 staff. The protesters are also demanding that colleagues sacked by the airline because they have voiced their opposition to the route-sharing agreement should be reinstated.

According to Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association chief, Sohail Baloch, the strikes are having an impact on airports across the country. He claims that Islamabad and Lahore have been shut down and that there is significant disruption at Karachi.

However, officials from PIA are saying that only Islamabad has experienced any major disruption and that there are only minor delays at other airports. There have been reports of confrontations between the airline’s management and union members at Karachi International.

Union officials claim that the proposed deal between PIA and Turkish Airlines would mean the loss of the carrier’s most profitable routes to America and across Europe resulting in inevitable job losses for PIA staff.

According to PIA spokesman, Mashood Tajwar, there is no way that PIA would ever consider selling the routes to Turkish Airlines, and that staff had obviously been misinformed.