Passengers of PIA flights PK-785 for London, PK-212 (for Dubai) and PK-741 for Saudi Arabia protested on Sunday first on the airport premises and later on the main road following the cancellation of their flights after captains and first officers refused to operate the flights after several hours of delay.Witnesses said that passengers of PK-741 staged a protest outside the airport, saying the cancellation of their flight would affect their jobs. They shouted slogans against the airline.A senior police official quoted the passengers as saying that their visas would expire after midnight.

Later, the traffic police arrived on the scene and convinced the protesting passengers to hold talks with authorities concerned to get their problem resolved.The road was later cleared after the protesters called off their protest. The passengers were shifted to different hotels by the airline.Meanwhile, a PIA spokesman said in a press release on Sunday that the illegal go-slow of Palpa had entered the ninth day as 13 captains and first officers refused to operate scheduled flights, causing an estimated loss of over Rs1 billion to the national flag carrier.He said flight PK-308 Karachi-Islamabad was operated by PIA Managing Director Captain Muhammad Aijaz Haroon and Director Flight Operations Captain Shuja Naqvi while 10 other flights were operated by pilots of the management.He said the illegal go-slow and refusal by Palpa pilots to operate fights affected 15 flights and five domestic and international flights had to be cancelled.The spokesman claimed that the management, over the last two weeks, had repeatedly requested Palpa representatives to hold talks with them to resolve the issue, but they had refused.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, Palpa President Captain Sohail Baloch said they had gone on a go-slow because the PIA management was not following the Working Agreement which was related to Palpa staff’s salaries, allowances and other perks.Another demand of Palpa, he said, was that it wanted the Air Navigation Order to be revised, adding that under the order Palpa members had to perform 12-hour duties, giving them little time for rest.He said the ministry of defence had called a meeting of Palpa representatives and PIA management on Monday.