Passenger Flown to Saudi Arabia Instead of Karachi in Airline Mix-up

Karachi, July 14 (PTI) - In a strange airline mishap, a passenger from Lahore was mistakenly flown to Saudi Arabia instead of Karachi and subsequently deported back to Pakistan.

The unusual incident took place on July 7, involving Malik Shahzain, an electrical engineer from Karachi, who was aboard an AirSial flight.

A Civil Aviation Authority official stated that they are investigating the perplexing case, noting, "A passenger boarding the wrong flight by mistake can happen, but we have never encountered a situation where a domestic passenger ended up on an international flight."

Shahzain recounted that he was returning to Karachi from Lahore on the night of July 7 after receiving news that his child had fallen ill. He arrived at the airport on time, presented his pre-booked boarding pass, and was directed to the lounge and departure gate.

"There were two AirSial planes on the tarmac, one destined for Karachi and the other for Jeddah. The staff, without proper checks, put me on the international flight. I only realized this when, even after two hours of flying, we had not landed," Shahzain explained.

While Shahzain landed in Jeddah, his luggage reached Karachi.

At Jeddah airport, immigration officials questioned Shahzain for hours before recognizing that he landed there by no fault of his own. They instructed the airline to put him on their next flight to Karachi.

However, his ordeal continued as the airline flew him back to Lahore and informed him he would need to arrange his own ticket to Karachi.

"I was informed about my son's illness and decided to return home, having been in Lahore for office work. Instead, I faced a 15-hour ordeal, ending up in Jeddah and enduring hours of interrogation," Shahzain said.

The engineer asserts that the airline staff admitted to their mistake of placing him on the international flight to Jeddah instead of taking him to Karachi.

He is, however, still waiting for a formal response and apology from the private airline.

"So far, the airline has issued no explanation or apology for my ordeal," Shahzain stated.

AirSial is a Pakistani private airline headquartered in Sialkot.

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