A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant was arrested in Toronto, Canada, for possession of multiple passports, as per ARY News. This incident aligns with a growing trend of PIA flight attendants absconding in Canada.

Canadian officials detained Hina Sani, a PIA flight attendant, following her arrival in Toronto on Flight PK 789 from Lahore Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on March 28, 2024.

Upon arrival, the flight attendant was apprehended by Canadian officials at YYZ Airport, where passports belonging to other individuals were discovered in her luggage.

The Express Tribune reported this is not an isolated incident involving the flight attendant’s conduct. She had been previously warned for attempting to smuggle banned items into Canada.

There have also been instances of PIA flight attendants vanishing in Canada recently, marking a continuing trend of crew members leaving their duties abroad, a phenomenon dating back to at least 2019.

In January 2024, a Pakistan International Airlines flight attendant did not report back after operating on flight PK 781 from Islamabad to Toronto. The Media Line identified the flight attendant as Faiza Mukhtar, scheduled for a return flight to Pakistan on PK 784 to Karachi Jinnah International (KHI) the following day.

This incident is part of an emerging pattern at PIA. In 2023, at least seven flight attendants went missing in Canada post-flight. Notably, Ayaz Qureshi in December 2023 and Khalid Afridi along with Fida Hussain Shah in November 2023 failed to report for their return duties after flights from Lahore and Islamabad to Toronto, respectively.

The trend is attributed to various reasons, including low wages, apprehensions over the airline’s potential privatization, and Canada’s asylum policies perceived as more lenient. To counteract these issues, PIA is taking steps such as increasing the minimum age requirement for flight attendants bound for Canada and forming a dedicated unit to investigate these disappearances.

Sources:

• Simple Flying
• Express Tribune
• ARY News
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