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PIA passengers stranded for 17hrs at Dubai airport

A PIA flight from Peshawar, headed for Dubai yesterday, was diverted to Muscat allegedly due 10 a technical glitch, but apparently the passengers waiting to board the same flight to Karachi at 8am yesterday morning were not informed of the impending delay, thereby causing them a waiting discomfort of more than 17 hours.

While some passengers, mostly women and children, were finally allowed to board the PIA flight that left for Karachi at 8pm yesterday, several others were promised that the flight would surely take off at 12 midnight, and were still kept waiting.

Speaking to Khaeej Times from the waiting lounge of Dubai International Airport, a desperate passenger recounted her ordeal.

“I and my infant daughter left the house at 5.30am to board the flight for Karachi,” said Amina. “But at the airport, after check-in, we were told that there had been a technical problem and the flight would now take off at 12pm,” she added.

“But 12 came and went, and we were told that the flight would now depart at 4pm and then we were told that it would finally take off at 12 midnight, but this was also not confirmed,” she said.

Amina was among the few who were adjusted on the 8pm flight, but before departing, she said that there was no guarantee from the PIA officials as to when she would get her baggage. “I have been allowed to board the plane but, I do not know when I will receive my luggage,” she said.

Another passenger, a businessperson, also said that all passengers had checked-in and so no one was allowed to go back home. “There was no one from the staff available to give us a satisfactory answer. We were not even accommodated in a hotel or given any edibles,” he said.

Relatives of the passengers also aired their anger saying that initially PIA officials had responded to their inquiries, but as time progressed, no one was available for comment. “The waiting passengers should at least have been allowed to leave the airport and asked to come back later, but this was not also done. This incident has caused tension among the passengers as well as their families waiting back home. PIA officials should at least act more responsibly," they said.

A PIA official said that all the commotion was due to a technical fault that had now been corrected. "Such faults are not in our hands, and they can happen with any airline. The issue has now been sorted, and all passengers will fly out of Dubai on the same flight which will now take off at 12 midnight.”

• UAE