Passengers of impounded PIA airplane in Malaysia being brought back

By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 06 Jan 2023

Passengers of PIA’s Boeing 777 which was held in Malaysia over a legal dispute will be brought back to Pakistan by Sunday afternoon, the national carrier said.

“The passengers will be moved from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai via two flights by tonight,” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan said.

A Qatar Airways flight will take 87 passengers, while an Emirates flight will take the remaining 80 to Dubai. On Sunday afternoon, all these passengers will be brought back to Islamabad, he assured.

On Friday, the PIA aircraft was held back in Malaysia over a legal dispute. The Boeing 777 aircraft was seized after a court order, the airline said, adding that the case involved a $14 million lease dispute.

“A PIA aircraft has been held back by a local court in Malaysia taking a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal dispute between PIA and another party pending in a UK court,” the national carrier said on Twitter.

It is an unacceptable situation and PIA has engaged the support from the government of Pakistan to take up this matter using diplomatic channels, it added.