Islamabad: Pakistan's Cabinet on Wednesday decided to immediately ground all Fokker planes of the state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) after one of the aircraft crashed recently killing 45 people on board.
The twin-engine Fokker plane, which was on a domestic flight, crashed on Monday soon after taking off from the central city of Multan and burst into flames.
Those killed in the crash included two judges of the Lahore High Court and two Brigadiers of the Pakistan army. "The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in its meeting, decided to ground all Fokker planes," Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durani said.
Durrani said all Fokker planes in the PIA fleet would now be used for cargo service.
Pakistan has six Fokker planes in its fleet. The information minister said that the plane, which crashed in Multan was fit for flight and there was no technical problem.
He said that C-130 planes would be used on routes to northern areas and other steps would be taken for routes being used by Fokker planes. The plane crashed in Multan was believed to be 40 year old.
The crash had raised concerns over the safety of Fokker planes and opposition leaders had demanded that all Fokker planes be grounded.
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