A major operational failure by a private Pakistani airline has left aviation authorities furious after a passenger from Lahore to Karachi was mistakenly flown to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, without proper travel documents.
The shocking incident occurred when the passenger boarded what he believed was his Karachi-bound flight at Lahore’s domestic terminal. “I showed my Karachi ticket to the flight attendant, but no one stopped me,” the affected traveller revealed. The error was only discovered two hours into the flight when he questioned why they hadn’t landed in Karachi.
Lahore Airport Manager Asif Mahmood confirmed this was no simple mistake. “This was clear negligence by the airline,” he stated. “Two aircraft were incorrectly assigned to the same gate, and their staff failed to verify passenger destinations during boarding.”
Private airline takes Karachi-bound passenger to Jeddah#ARYNewshttps://t.co/XL8aTE3d48
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) July 10, 2025The stranded passenger now faces a bureaucratic nightmare in Jeddah. “They told me it would take 2-3 days to arrange my return,” he said. “The airline initially tried blaming me before admitting their error.”
Aviation expert Dr. Samina Khan warns such lapses threaten Pakistan’s aviation reputation. “This isn’t just about inconvenience – it’s a serious security breach that could affect our international safety ratings.”
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has launched an immediate investigation and ordered all domestic airlines to review their boarding procedures within 30 days.
![](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphotonews.com.pk%2Fpakistan-airline-passenger-jeddah-error%2F&media=https://photonews.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Karachi-Bound-Wrongly.jpg&description=A Karachi-bound passenger was flown to Jeddah without a passport or visa due to an airline error. Lahore Airport calls it "clear negligence".){kind=link}