Dusty Chairs, Broken Seat Handles: Pak Man Shares His Experience On PIA Flight

The European Union banned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 2020 due to concerns about Pakistan's ability to ensure compliance with international aviation standards. Recently, a Pakistani social media user and traveller shared a video showing what flying with PIA is like. In an Instagram video, user Ali Khan showed the terrifying conditions of the airlines and his experience on "one of the most dangerous flights in the world". "Would you fly on this route?" he asked his followers in the caption of this post. 

The video shows Mr Khan getting on the flight and immediately being told by the cabin crew that he is not allowed to record anything on the flight. But once he reaches his seat, he shows the dust-filled gaps on the chair, broken seat handle and a duct-taped overhead bin. In the clip, Mr Khan said that their pilot was interactive with the passengers and even told passengers about facts and information about Skardu. 

"Pakistan has a troubled reputation in the world...It doesn't help when your national carrier is also banned from an entire continent. But I decided to go on a PIA flight for the first time in over a decade to go the Northern Areas of Pakistan. An absolute bucket list location for me. I'm so excited to take y'all with me," Mr Khan wrote in the caption of the post. 

Watch the video below:

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A post shared by Ali Khan | Muslim Traveler (@alinadeemkhn)

The user shared the video earlier this month. Since then, it has accumulated more than 761,000 views and over 16,000 likes. 

Reacting to the video, one user wrote, "Watching this clip and hearing what you said about the Airlines gave me heart palpitations. But no doubt about the beauty you witnessed and God bless you for the risk you took to see it." 

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Another said, "Pakistan Airlines? I would never even consider, let alone get anywhere near one of their planes."

"I've flown to gilgit with PIA to Gilgit just a little further North, so pretty much the same route. It's one of the most beautiful flights in the world but there have been so many plane crashes along that mountain corridor!" commented a third user. 

"Duck tape all airlines use, everyone should carry some with them while traveling," jokingly write a fourth.