PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bernd Hildenbrand has called on the Pakistani government to curb Middle Eastern-based carriers' growing prominence in the country's market.

In an interview with Reuters, Hildenbrand said PIA was losing PKR3.1 billion rupees (USD30 million) per month with carriers such as Emirates and Etihad Airways eating into its market share through cheaper flights and superior on-board product.

As such, he asked government, the carrier's largest shareholder, to restrict the UAE-based carriers' access to Pakistan in the interests of saving the airline.

In June 2015, Pakistan and the UAE revised the terms of their air services agreement allowing the latter free reign in terms of access to Quetta, Turbat, Gwadar, and Panjgur while boosting passenger capacity to Karachi International, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot.

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Pakistani carriers PIA, AirBlue, and Shaheen Air International account for only 28.37% (23,205) of the Pakistan-UAE market's weekly seating with the remainder controlled by Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia, and Etihad.