Vanishing PIA staff

It seems PIA's Toronto routes exist only to facilitate illegal migration by its staff. Earlier this week, another cabin crew member was reported to have gone missing, taking the number that have run off after landing at Pearson International Airport to 12. Despite the airline's claims of trying to rectify the situation, the absconding staff have faced few difficulties in leaving. Just a few months ago, a female flight attendant left a card in her hotel room that said, "Thank you, PIA." That staffer had over 15 years of experience, showing that people are not just joining PIA with the sole intention of fleeing, but also that no amount of experience should make a staffer above suspicion.

It is also worth noting that while PIA is coordinating with Canadian authorities to find a solution, the current penalty for staffers who flee is nothing short of farcical - dismissal from service. PIA management seems to believe that someone who has decided to leave Pakistan behind would still care about keeping a job that requires them to live in Pakistan. And while there have been reported cases of airline employees using their jobs to facilitate asylum because they were legitimately unsafe in their home countries - several Ethiopian Airlines staffers recently fled their country after the government began oppressing their communities - the PIA staffers do not fit the bill. Relevant reporting suggests most of them either wanted to get away from the economic disarray in Pakistan, or were motivated by the presence of other relatives already in Canada. That makes them economic migrants - which is not grounds for asylum - and none seem to have faced any security concerns here.

PIA needs to look into more aggressive options to ensure staff actually return home, including some form of bond or collateral requirement for staff on certain routes, monitoring staff movement through measures such as a 'buddy system' or setting up a staff hotel to keep an eye on their comings and goings. While not ideal, these may be the only workable measures that can make walking away a bit harder.