Islamabad, September 21: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operated as many as 46 flights from the Islamabad Airport in 2016-17 with no passengers onboard the planes, a media report said on Saturday.

An audit report, a copy of which is available with Geo News, revealed that the national flag carrier suffered loss of 180 million Pakistani rupees by operating the without passengers. Imran Khan Vows to Go After 'Thieves' Responsible for Pakistan's Economic Woes.

It said 36 additional flights on the Haj and Umrah routes were also operated without passengers and no inquiry was initiated despite the administration being informed about the matter.

The audit report said the issue has been declared a negligent act in the official documents. In order to reduce operational costs, PIA last month laid off nearly 1,000 surplus employees.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 21, 2019 09:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).