Another member of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cabin crew has reportedly gone missing while on duty, according to Pakistan-based DAWN newspaper.
The air hostess was identified as Maryam Raza, who landed in Toronto, Canada on PIA flight PK-782 from Islamabad on Monday. The reports indicated that she didn’t report for duty on the return flight, PK-784 to Karachi.
She went missing but after a search, a note saying, “Thank you, PIA”, was found in a Toronto hotel room. The authorities also found her uniform when they scanned her room.
According to the report, she became a member of Pakistan’s national flag carrier 15 years ago. She was given the duty of flying from Islamabad to Toronto.
This isn’t the first time, as there was a similar incident earlier this year. About a month ago, another PIA flight attendant, Faiza Mukhtar, also disappeared in Canada.
Local reports said that she landed in Canada and was supposed to fly back to Karachi, but she went MIA (missing in action). PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan had said that a day after landing in Canada “did not board the flight and disappeared”.
DAWN quoted officials as saying that the disappearances of the cabin crew members are due to the flexible Canadian law, which offers asylum after entering the country.
However, the trend will pose issues for the crisis-hit carrier because it will tarnish its image globally. Obtaining funds to sustain its operations has already been a challenge for the airline. Last year, in September, PIA was forced to ground several aircraft.
In October, operations were again halted due to a shortage of fuel as Pakistan State Oil (PSO) stopped fuel supply to PIA, which severely affected the airlines.
Several crew members ‘vanished’ in the past
Faiza Mukhtar, an air hostess, did not show up for her return flight after arriving in Canada in January. “On its scheduled return to the country, Ms Mukhtar did not turn up [in Toronto] and the flight of the national flag carrier had to proceed without her,” said a PIA official. Dawn reported that the attendant was suspended a few years ago for allegedly smuggling mobile phones and foreign currency.
In Canada last year, at least seven PIA cabin crew members were reported missing while performing flight duties. PIA’s spokesperson said one of the crew members who slipped away while on duty some years ago has now settled in Canada and ‘advises’ other crew members considering seeking asylum there.
In 2022, five crew members also disappeared during overseas flights. The spokesperson said that the PIA management has been coordinating with Canadian authorities to prevent such incidents in the future. Pakistan’s caretaker cabinet has approved the restructuring of the national carrier in a swansong move.
PIA’s growing financial problems
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been running into loss for years and the caretakers just two days before elections decided to bifurcate it into two entities, according to a statement issued after the cabinet meeting held earlier this month. The meeting chaired by caretaker PM Anwaar-ul Haq Kakar had been informed that in the light of the financial adviser hired for financial restructuring, the functions of the national flag carrier would be bifurcated into two companies, namely TopCo and HoldCo.
The decision to bifurcate the PIA was to pave the way for its privatisation but it came too late when the caretaker set-up had a limited time and it would cease to function when the new leader of the house was elected by the parliament after the election of February 8. Experts believe that the low salaries of crew members and concerns over PIA’s future are prompting them to escape after landing in Canada, rather than returning home.
After landing in Toronto in 2018, a flight attendant identified only as Mahira disappeared. Media reports indicate that she now lives in Canada and helped Faiza Mukhtar with her asylum application. The growing number of crew disappearances represents a significant downfall for the once-celebrated airline plagued by financial challenges, governance issues, and controversies.
