Grounded planes: Passengers stranded for 5 hours

HYDERABAD: Federal Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and managing director of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Rao Qamar Suleman were among the passengers left stranded for five hours at Shaheed Benazirabad airport due to suspension of air traffic at Karachi’s airport. Two Karachi-bound flights were diverted to Shaheed Benazirabad carrying 217 and 218 passengers, respectively. The passengers were not allowed to disembark with the exception of the federal minister and PIA’s MD. According to Nawabshah’s airport manager, the airport’s lounge did not have a large enough seating capacity for the passengers. He denied that the air conditioners on the planes were turned off, following complaints of heat and suffocation from passengers. The planes took off after being grounded for five hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2012.