Islamabad, Oct 3 (IANS): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has cancelled dozens of flights due to a pilots' strike, affecting thousands of passengers, officials said on Saturday.
The Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA) began the strike on Friday after the authorities cancelled the license of a pilot who refused to fly beyond the "stipulated flight duty time limitation", Xinhua news agency reported.
The strike has forced cancellations of nearly 50 flights on both domestic and international routes, aviation officials said.
Talks between the PALPA and PIA authorities in Karachi failed to end the deadlock, PALPA president Captain Amir Hashmi said.
PIA spokesman Daniyal Gilani said the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Aviation, Captain Shujaat Azeem, has invited the PALPA for talks in Islamabad.
Hashmi said the association had not received any invitation for the talks.