Pakistani man, deported after boarding wrong flight to Jeddah, accuses airline of ‘criminal negligence'
Malik Shahzain Ahmed, a resident of Karachi, was scheduled to fly from Lahore to Karachi on July 8 on the private airline's flight PF-146. However, he boarded an international flight to Jeddah without any visa or passport and was subsequently detained and deported by Saudi immigration authorities.
In a petition filed in the Sindh High Court on Friday, the passenger requested the court for an early hearing which the court accepted and fixed his plea for July 21. The complainant made the private airline and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) parties in his petition.
'This is a matter of national security. A JIT (joint investigation team) should be formed on this matter,' Ahmed said in his petition filed through his lawyer, Muhammad Nawaz Dahri.
'How did a person go abroad without a ticket, without a passport and other documents? This is criminal negligence of the private airline.'
Ahmed also accused the airline management of harassing him.
'The license of the private airline should be suspended until the investigation is completed,' he requested.
In a legal notice previously served to the airline, Ahmed said he was denied assistance by the airline and subjected to humiliation, distress. He said he faced 'severe mental trauma' and had to purchase another ticket to return to Karachi.
The notice had accused the airline of violating the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2014, citing 'defective' service, lack of identity verification and 'misleading representations regarding safety and professionalism.' It also alleged breaches of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Rules, 1994, the Pakistan Immigration Ordinance, 1979, and international air travel conventions, including the Montreal Convention of 1999.
In a statement after the incident was first reported by news channels, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said it had taken notice of the lapse and written letters to the civil aviation regulator and the station manager.
'In the letter, the civil aviation regulator has been requested to impose a heavy fine on the airline that is guilty of negligence,' PAA spokesman Saifullah, who goes by a single name, told Arab News.
Ahmed's legal notice demanded a written response within two days alongside compensatory damages.
Air Sial has not publicly commented on the matter.
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