Karachi (Pakistan News Online) Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been struggling with severe financial and operational difficulties in recent years.
Recently, a viral video on social media sparked controversy, showing Airport Security Force personnel standing in front of an aircraft door while passengers inside protested. The passengers, in the video, claimed that their flight to Peshawar had mistakenly landed in Karachi, and they had been stranded for 20 hours.
The video fueled speculation online, with many criticizing PIA’s performance and sharing the clip with claims that the pilot had accidentally landed the plane in Karachi instead of Peshawar.
However, a BBC report states that the landing in Karachi was not a mistake but because of a technical fault. In an explanation, PIA’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Abdullah Hafeez said, “Flight PK-248, operating from Dubai to Peshawar, was diverted to Karachi due to a technical fault, as Karachi is PIA’s engineering hub.”.
He further added that the aircraft was replaced, and all the passengers flew to Peshawar in less than three hours. “That’s not possible,” he asserted, “in modern aviation, there is no place for such navigation errors.”.
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Senior journalist Tariq Abul Hasan also verified the technical landing. He said that PK-284, which flew from Dubai to Peshawar, had been compelled to make an emergency stop at Karachi Airport last night due to a technical fault of its aircraft. Hundreds of passengers were left inside for hours, frustrating them and forcing them to protest, as it can be observed in the viral video. Ultimately, they were flown to Peshawar on a replacement flight.
Tariq Abul Hasan also pointed out that the current technical issues faced by PIA planes are largely due to a lack of spare parts. Despite increased revenue, the airline has not been purchasing necessary parts, causing severe maintenance issues and grounding several aircraft.
He revealed that out of PIA’s fleet of 40 planes, only 17 are operational due to management’s negligence in procuring spare parts, a situation worsened by the airline’s ongoing privatization plans.