Boarded flight for Karachi, but landed in Saudi Arabia

In arguably one of the most bizarre cases in air travel history, a Karachi-bound passenger was mistakenly boarded onto a Jeddah-bound flight, resulting in a 15-hour ordeal that ended with questioning by Saudi authorities and a struggle to return home.

Malik Shahzain, an electrical engineer and resident of Korangi, was returning to Karachi from Lahore on the night of July 7 after learning that his child had fallen ill. However, due to what he described as a "serious and irresponsible error" by ground staff at Lahore airport, he was instead flown to Jeddah aboard an AirSial flight.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Shahzain recalled how he arrived at the airport around 9pm and approached airline staff with his boarding pass for the Karachi-bound flight. At the time, two AirSial aircraft were parked on the tarmac — one scheduled for Karachi and the other for Jeddah — both reportedly departing at 10pm.

"I handed over my boarding pass and was directed to the international departures gate. I was seated at window seat 17F without being informed I had boarded the wrong flight," he said.

Two hours into the flight, Shahzain got concerned and asked a flight attendant when the plane would arrive in Karachi. To his shock, he was informed that the aircraft was en route to Jeddah.

Panic ensued among the crew, who informed the captain about the situation. Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, the airline staff tried to manage the incident discreetly but failed. Saudi customs and security officials boarded the aircraft and escorted Shahzain away for interrogation.

"I was taken about 800 metres from the plane, questioned repeatedly, and even my water bottle was examined," he said. A Bengali-speaking member of the Saudi security team acted as a translator during the inquiry.

After explaining the situation and presenting his documents, Shahzain was released when authorities accepted that the incident had occurred due to negligence on the part of the airline. He was placed on a return flight to Lahore with instructions for AirSial to ensure his safe arrival in Karachi.

However, the trouble did not end there. "Upon reaching Lahore, I was told to arrange my own ticket to Karachi," he said.

With only Rs15,000 in hand and the ticket priced at Rs23,000, he had to contact his factory's Karachi office to purchase the ticket on his behalf.

Shahzain said that while his 11kg luggage was correctly sent to Karachi and received later, the airline had yet to issue an apology or accept responsibility. He stressed that his intention in sending a legal notice was not to demand financial compensation but to seek accountability.

"This mistake could have had far worse consequences had it involved someone who couldn't explain themselves — perhaps an illiterate or poor traveller from a remote area," he said. "It's not just about embarrassment; such incidents damage the country's image."

He called for proper training and accountability for airline staff, arguing that simply reprimanding those responsible is not enough.