PIA appoints Adrian Hamilton-Manns as chief executive
The former SalamAir head succeeds Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, who ran the national carrier for four and a half years and prepared it for privatisation.
Pakistan International Airlines has appointed Adrian Hamilton-Manns as its chief executive, the carrier's board announced, and he took charge on Monday, November 2, 2026.
The board said Hamilton-Manns will lead the national carrier through its ongoing restructuring and its effort to improve commercial viability, Business Recorder reported. The Express Tribune and Samaa also reported that he had formally assumed the post.
The new chief executive has spent more than 30 years in the aviation industry and has served as chief executive of three airlines, the board said. It described him as an expert in airline transformation and turnaround strategies.
He joins PIA from Oman-based SalamAir, which he headed before this appointment. From April 2020 to July 2024 he was president and chief executive of Kazakhstan's FlyArystan, a low-cost carrier, and from 2012 to 2016 he was founding chief executive of flyafrica.com, a low-cost airline focused on Africa.
His earlier roles include senior commercial positions at India's IndiGo, South African Airways, Pacific Blue, part of Virgin Australia, and Indonesia's Mandala Airlines. He began his aviation career at Air New Zealand in 1997.
Hamilton-Manns succeeds Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, who held the post for four and a half years.
The PIA Board chairman credited Hayat with introducing structural reforms, improving operational efficiency and preparing the airline for privatisation. "We are immensely grateful for AVM Amir Hayat's steadfast commitment to the national flag carrier during a highly complex transitional period," the chairman said.
The chairman said he expected Hamilton-Manns's experience to accelerate the airline's strategic objectives, raise service standards and help it reach sustainable profitability.
The appointment comes as PIA is run by the private sector. An Arif Habib-led consortium took over the airline's management on June 29, 2026, after the privatisation process.
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