A viral video surfacing over the internet showed a few flight passengers confronting the staff of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) over a flight cancellation. The flights were called off at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi as the airline was facing a fuel shortage issue.

It resulted in the cancellation of flights for numerous weeks due to financial constraints.

In a 4-minute long video, posted on various social media platforms, distressed passengers seem to be engaged in a heated argument, questioning the staff members why they were not informed about the flight cancellation in advance.

Some passengers demanded refunds and vouchers from PIA, while others urged the airlines for immediate response and solutions. One passenger claimed that he would end up losing $6,000 due to pre-booking accommodations and rental cars due to flight cancellations. Despite repeated requests to involve higher management, the staff members declined to act or respond to their queries.

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A man was also seen shouting at the staff members for causing inconvenience to the passengers, saying, “Tamasha samjha Hua hai”.

Another furious passenger slammed the airline’s management, stating that paying customers are not getting the services they paid for, and government officials always seem to have fuel.

Netizens reactions

Meanwhile, the video has made several rounds on social media gaining numerous responses from the audience. Few users are also seen making fun of the government and lack of management. “Feeling sad for the people of Pakistan. They deserve to be in better conditions, Akhand Bharat is the only solution,” a user mentioned in the comment section of the posted video.

Another user said, “Pakistan is a failed state, look at the condition of Karachi, Roads are pathetic, state, law, and order are nowhere to be found, innocent people mostly from Urdu speaking community are being killed due to road accidents and robbery incidents. Where is the state?”, it added.

“PIA is no longer an Airline, it has become worse than our Railway trains,”

“Never heard of this nonsense before that the flight has been canceled due to shortage of fuel,” other users added.

Financial Constraints in Pakistan

The Pakistan International Airlines are currently facing severe financial constraints. The airline is burdened with a debt of approximately $2.9 billion, causing delayed salaries and uncertainty about future payments.

The airline, which once was a pride of Pakistan and the first international airline to travel to Beijing, is suffering from millions of losses daily. Presently, the airlines has only 16 aircrafts, which the government intends to privatize, and is facing conflict with the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) refinery over unpaid debts.