PIA crew of Manchester-bound flight briefly refuses to fly in protest
The flight PK-709 from Lahore was ready for take-off, when the pilot and cockpit crew refused to fly the aircraft.
Earlier today, the crew of PIA flight PK-758 from London was held after mobile phones and foreign currency worth millions of rupees were recovered from them.
Pakistan Customs officials recovered 5,000 pounds and 21 sets of iPhone 6 from the possession of Captain Amir Hashmi and his crew.
As a form of protest and in support of their fellow pilots and crew, the PK-709 crew refused to fly urging PIA to resolve the issue with customs. However, the crew decided to fly out after customs officials briefed them about rules for cabin crew and passengers.
Customs maintains that the same rules of bringing in foreign currency and items apply for PIA crew as for passengers.
It is reported that the crew members of flight PK-758 had changed their duties to attend the launch of Apple's iPhone 6 and buy the latest model in bulk.
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There is one major deficiency in our country; justice not prevails. This is a major attraction for many to indulge in crimes & make illegal money. look at the every sector of society, you will see criminals all around; even Imam Masjid too.
Back in the 80s, one PIA captain was famous to have smuggled heroine to different countries, and later he had created a large group of industries based on this wealth.
So this is not new, has been going on for years. Just this time, as we are all looking at the negaative side, the crew did not grease the palm of the custom official genrously...
was there delay in flight PK709? did the passengers protest for the delay in PK709 flight? did the allow the pilot enter the plane after the delay????
The smugglers and corrupts who should be in jail are instead flying high
@Np: "India can at most be 67 years ahead. Until then we were one country." - It all depends on the velocity of travel and hence it is possible that country is lightyears ( an unit used to describe distance ) ahead of another especially if one is having an impediment free growth and the other where even conditions prevailing 67 years back are being eaten away like in cancer.
A moment of shame for the nation, a politically polarized society like ours has become the most difficult ground to have merit based people in service. Sigh
An FIR needs to be filed to start legal proceedings. ET, who should do that?
Love to PIA !
Transferring a lot of cash is looked as suspicious in every country of the world. In this day and age not too many upright people take the risk to use cash when there are many other less risky means. In addition people can carry monies and goods as long as they are declared. Anything undeclared which is not allowed is called smuggling. My close friends who are professional highly paid carry tens of thousand of $$ out of the country to Pakistan but they honestly declare it on customs forms. A person making $20 thousand can carry a month salary and honestly declare without fear. In fact in Malaysia I had to declare that I am not bringing in MR more than one thousand, which is about $350 only! PIA staff and pilots are Gods and they can do no wrong. In any other country the staff would go to jail and their associates would be fired but it is the land of Pak.
ET why waste space in reporting about bankrupt organisations !! let them rot. No institution is worth reporting in "Land of pure".
Very sad.
People can no longer tell the difference between right and wrong.
Instead of these crazy mullahs on TV all the time, their programs whould be replaced with those about Qaid e Azam, so we learn what moral values mean.
@Lam: India can at most be 67 years ahead. Until then we were one country.
These pilots have to play a role in showing how corrupt the people in Pakistan are. Take an example of the Neibour India, they are 10000 years ahead. It really gives ever other Pakistani a bad name just because few of them are corrupt. Pia provide the worst service and now they don't have any competition as air blue has gone under, I would never use them.
5000 pounds with one guy does not sound like much. And specially not much at all if he or she is bringing it into the country. 21 phones with one guy is suspicious. But it says they belonged to the whole crew. So if there are say 9 members to the crew thats 3 each. Again not much for one person.
PIA crew needs to make up its mind as choices are very clear - continue job as a PIA crew or follow smugglers to jail.
@Adeel Pervaiz: Are you for sure decided that they were smuggling bro? Could be other way also.
@Ch. Allah Daad: typical noora league troll always dragging pti into irrelevant arguments
Trust me ... Any PIA Captain is one of the biggest badmaash around !!!
Mashallah: 21 IPhone 6 and 5000 Pounds
PIA should be privitised ASAP and may be shut.It is a massive loss making unit
Whoever is involved in smuggling and crew of other flight who delayed the flight in support of smuggling staff should be severley punished according to law to set an example. .
The pilots of PIA are treated like endangered species. They go on strike if any member of the cockpit crew is caught in a crime. Most of these pilots are related to the VVIP in the government. Merit and character is not taken into consideration in recruiting pilots in the state owned airlines. No wonder the crew of the flight could not opening tell the passengers the delay of over 2 hours just for the arrival of Rehman baba. The politicians think that anything the state owns is their personal property.
I salute to these our custom officials and i wish these illeterate corrupt fight people should be kicked out of the system. They are blackspot on our country.
These phones are in big demand in Asian countries so they can make a lot of profit. According to reuters they sell for $3000 each in China. Apple delayed the China launch by a month but some people can't wait. Was this crew flying to China next by chance? As for the foreign currency 5000 GBP is less than a million rupees. So where did the author get the "millions of rupees" idea from?
Are they working for the PIA or they using it as front for dealing in contra band?
SHUT PIA DOWN........BITE BULLET ONCE and breath freely thereafter.
Wow, so our pilots are involved in smuggling and fellow pilots protests why they are detained :)
Nice, There are many culprits in PIA, but never thought it would be cabin crew.
With no due respect what so ever, PIA and it's people are an embarrassment to Pakistan.