KARACHI, Sindh: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended air hostess Samera Aftab after mobile phones and smartwatches were recovered from her possession following a flight from Toronto to Karachi.
Aftab arrived in Karachi aboard PIA flight PK-784 from the Canadian city of Toronto a few days before the action was taken. Following the recovery of the electronic devices, PIA’s Vigilance Department prepared an incident report and forwarded the matter to the airline’s Human Resources Department.
The PIA administration subsequently suspended Aftab and opened a formal investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the mobile phones and smartwatches.
The suspension comes as PIA is also expanding preparations for its renewed operations in the United Kingdom after regaining landing slots at London’s Heathrow Airport that had been allocated to foreign carriers during restrictions on the airline’s UK services.
According to official sources, PIA has regained 14 Heathrow slots. The airline is expected to increase Islamabad-London services from three to five weekly flights under its winter schedule, while Lahore-London flights could rise from one to two per week.
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PIA had previously allowed six Heathrow slots to Turkish Airlines and one to Kuwait Airways after restrictions affected its European and UK operations.
The current disciplinary case, however, remains separate from PIA’s operational expansion, with the airline’s internal investigation into the cabin crew member still under way.
