In an astonishing mishap, a man was flown to Jeddah instead of Karachi after boarding a flight from Lahore, as per local media outlets.
The passenger, Malik Shahzain Ahmed, was travelling with private airline Air Sial on July 8, when the incident took place. According to him, he did not have a passport or visa for international travel, which caused further distress at the destination, where he was detained and deported.
Shahzain claimed that despite showing his ticket to the air hostess, he was allowed to board the flight and not informed of the error. When he realised he was on the wrong plane, it was already too late.
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The passenger has now filed a complaint against the airline, which refused to cover expenses of the return flight to Lahore. He also claimed that the airline said it would take two to three days for them to bring him to Karachi when he questioned the crew mid-flight.
According to him, the crew panicked when he questioned them and blamed him for the error.
Shahzain, in his legal notice, has urged the airline to cover additional flight expenses and respond to the issue.
The Pakistan Airport Authority is currently investigating the matter and the Lahore Airport Management said it is holding the airline responsible and that the incident took place due to the carrier’s ‘negligence and carelessness’. The organisation’s manager said a request for action has been submitted against the airline.