On rejection, pilot makes purser fly back to Pakistan from Birmingham as a passenger on a separate plane. PHOTO: FILE.
On rejection, captain pilot Riffat Hey of PK791 refused to acknowledge the purser Ghulam Mustafa as aircraft manager and made him fly back to Pakistan from Birmingham as a passenger on a separate plane.
The purser – who was travelling back to Pakistan without a visa – was arrested by the immigration officials at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA). Aircraft workers generally do not need to have a visa when they are travelling on international flights, but in this instance, the purser was on the plane as a normal passenger.
After his arrest, the purser informed PIA management about the incident.
Sexual harassment
Earlier in March this year, Hey had appeared before the Supreme Court alleging that female staff of the national carrier were being sexually harassed and subsequently victimised by the higher management.
“Harassment and subsequent victimisation is rampant in PIA. I am not the only staff member who has faced such problems. I am alone in only speaking against the problem,” asserted Hey.
Hey had claimed that she was being targeted after she complained about the attitude of two male pilots. “I brought my problem into the notice of the higher management of PIA but no action was taken; instead the management started targeting me and hurdles were being created in my promotion,” she said.
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