Another crew member from Pakistan International Airlines has reportedly vanished upon arrival in Canada.
Flight attendant Ayaz Qureshi is said to have been working PIA flight PK784, travelling from Lahore to Toronto, and slipped away before returning to Pakistan.
“On its scheduled return to Islamabad, the steward did not turn up in Toronto,” sources quoting PIA officials told ARY News. “The flight of the national flag carrier had to return back to Islamabad without the crew member.”
That brings the total of PIA flight attendants who have skipped their return flights to Pakistan to four in the past year, the news outlet reported.
Earlier this month, two PIA flight attendants slipped away in Toronto after their flight from Islamabad arrived at Pearson airport, according to Pakistan Today.
Khalid Afridi and Fida Shah were on flight PK-772, a PIA spokesperson told the outlet, but did not turn up for the return home and the flight left without them.
Prior to that, in July, PIA flight attendant Muntazir Mehdi went “missing” from a Toronto hotel after his arrival from Lahore.
On Oct. 14, 2022, PIA crew member Aijaz Ali Shah touched down at Pearson, and was scheduled to return to Islamabad on flight PK-782 days later but was a no-show.
Canadian immigration authorities reportedly were informed of the “missing” crew member, who was later dismissed from the airline.
Following the disappearance of Afridi and Shah, the airline implemented stricter regulations for flight crew members travelling to Canada and Europe.
Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations states that foreign nationals do not need to obtain a temporary resident visa if they seek to enter and remain in Canada as a flight crew member.
The Toronto Sun has reached out to Pakistan International Airlines for comment.