Passengers protest as PIA pilot refuses to fly plane after duty hours

Airport security called in at Saudi Arabia’s Dammam airport to bring situation under control

ISLAMABAD:

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilot on Sunday refused to fly a plane from Riyadh to Islamabad saying his duty had ended, igniting a protest by the passenger who refused to get off the plane.

As per the PIA administration, PK-9754 took off from Riyadh but landed in Dammam due to bad weather. The captain of the flight then refused to fly the plane to Islamabad saying his duty timings had ended.

The passengers, getting irritated by the unexpected turn of events, refused to get off the plane in protest. However, the airport security was called in to bring the situation under control.

The PIA spokesperson said that it is necessary for the pilots to take proper rest prior to flying for flight safety so arrangements were made in this regard. He said that the passengers will land in Islamabad at 11pm tonight.

In November, the national flag carrier had announced that it was expanding its flight operations for Saudi Arabia.

According to spokesperson, the PIA flights will depart from different cities of the country, including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar.