PIA air hostess flies to Toronto without passport

KARACHI: In a rare development, an air hostess working in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was fined for flying from Islamabad to Toronto without her passport on March 15, it emerged on Sunday.

Source affiliated with the national carrier said that the stewardess forgot to keep her passport on flight PK-781, bound for Toronto, and had to board the plane on the general declaration documents.

As a result, Canadian authorities slapped a fine of $200 on her for negligence and landing in Toronto without the passport. Responding to the matter, the PIA confirmed the incident and matter of fine slapped on the air hostess.

The spokesman for the national flag carrier, while keeping the flight attendant’s identity secret, said that she had left her passport at Karachi airport. He, however, denied reports of the air hostess’s stay and political asylum in Canada, saying that she is returning to Pakistan via flight PK-782. The incident sparked concerns due to several cases of disappearance of PTI flight attendants seeking immigration to Canada. The source said that more than 10 PIA flight attendants have gone into hiding after landing in Canada.