Shaheen Air: Fuel tank leak leaves passengers stranded

Officials say remaining passengers will either be sent to Karachi on another plane or will be directed to go home.

ISLAMABAD: The fuel tank of a Shaheen Airline plane set to depart for Karachi was found leaking, leaving passengers stranded at Benazir International Airport for over two and a half hours, Express News reported on Saturday.

The leakage was found when passengers were getting ready to board the plane. Sources said that the plane, which was due to fly at 10am, had undergone a full maintenance check, but the leak had not been discovered then.

Passengers had not been informed that there was a fuel tank leak, but were informed after a long waiting period that the plane will be flying back to Karachi.

Officials at the airport confirmed that it was a fuel tank leak and said that the remaining passengers would either be sent to Karachi on another airplane or would be directed to go home.

Last month, shortly after the Bhoja Air crash, the fuel tank of another Shaheen Air plane began leaking as it was about to take off from Lahore airport.

More recently, a consumer court awarded four petitioners Rs50,000 each on a suit seeking total damages of Rs40 million from Shaheen Air International over a lengthy delay in a Dubai-Lahore flight.