Pakistani man sues airline for wrongly flying him to Jeddah

Tariq Butt, Gulf Today Correspondent

An engineer approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) against a private airline and others for wrongly flying him to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, instead of Karachi from Lahore airport earlier this month.

Filing a plea before the SHC, petitioner Malik Shahzain Ahmed sought compensation and an inquiry into the incident. He cited the ministry of aviation, Civil Aviation Authority, Airport Security Force, Federal Investigation Agency and AirSial as respondents, and sought a directive for effective implementation of mandatory standard operating procedures (SOPs) and documentation procedures.

The petitioner submitted that he is a resident of Korangi, Karachi, and frequently travels within the country for work-related assignments as he is a professional civil engineer.

He stated that on July 7, he had purchased a ticket of AirSial to travel from Lahore to Karachi, but due to alleged gross negligence and procedural failure of the airline, he was "wrongfully and unlawfully boarded on an international flight of the same airline to Jeddah despite lacking valid passport, visa and international travel clearance.”

Ahmed also submitted that such reckless conduct of the private airline resulted in his prolonged detention and interrogations at the Jeddah Airport and eventually he was deported back to Lahore by the Saudi immigration authorities without any assistance or representation of the respondent airline.

He said that after returning to Lahore, he was again compelled to purchase a new ticket to reach Karachi. He said he sent a formal legal notice to the airline for legal intimation and initiation of appropriate action, but no response had been received so far. He alleged that the airline has failed to offer any apology, remedy, or compensation and instead attempted to suppress the incident and such action amounted to gross violation of his fundamental rights as guaranteed in the Constitution.

Ahmed’s lawyer Nawaz Dahri submitted that besides violation of constitutional provisions, such an act has also caused immense mental distress, financial loss and reputational damage to him as well as exposing him to criminal liability abroad.

He also argued that the regulatory authorities have also failed to perform their statutory duties in order to prevent such gross misconduct and their inaction has caused violations.

The lawyer maintained that actions of respondents have also violated various laws and regulations including Rules 272 and 273 the Civil Aviation Rules 1997 requiring passengers’ verification, the Pakistan Immigration Ordinance 1979, barring international travel without valid documents and the Montreal Convention 1999 and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 9 binding the air carrier to ensure secure and lawful travel procedures.

Barrister Taimur Malik, who contested the 2024 polls with the support of the PTI and is a member of the party’s legal team, also called for Dr Yasmin Rashid to be "granted the right to bail like thousands of others in these cases”.
He said that the PTI had asked the courts repeatedly to decide her bail applications. "More than two years in prison as an under-trial prisoner is punishment itself before any case has even been decided,” he added.
Because of her old age and different ailments, Dr Yasmin Rashid is not keeping a good health for a long time.