Pakistan’s flagship carrier has faced backlash over a commercial that depicts an aircraft approaching the Eiffel Tower – with several critics drawing parallels to images reminiscent of the 9/11 terrorist incidents.
The promotional material, shared on the official X account of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on January 10, illustrates the aircraft en route to the French icon with the accompanying phrase “Paris, we’re coming today”.
This announcement was intended to celebrate the resumption of direct flights to Europe after a four-year suspension due to safety compliance issues.
However, many users on social platforms remarked that the advertisement bore a striking resemblance to visuals associated with the 9/11 attacks in the United States, where hijacked airplanes impacted the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
One individual commented: “Is this a promotion or a threat?”, while another questioned: “Who approved this advertisement?”
Omar Quraishi, a former media consultant to Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, also expressed his astonishment at the concept behind the advertisement, asserting he was “genuinely astonished”.
“Did the person who created this graphic really think about a PIA aircraft flying toward the Eiffel Tower? One of Europe’s most notable landmarks,” he remarked.
PIA flight getting ready to leave for Paris. Pic: AP
Following this incident, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has initiated an investigation to ascertain how such a contentious advertisement was permitted, as reported by local media.
The inaugural flight from Islamabad to Paris since 2020 was fully booked, carrying over 300 passengers, according to PIA.
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Flight restrictions on PIA routes to Europe were initiated in 2020 by the European Union’s aviation safety authority after 97 individuals perished in a crash involving a PIA aircraft in Karachi, located in southern Pakistan.
Subsequently, the then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan reported that an investigation into the incident revealed that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had falsified their pilot examination results. A government inquiry later determined that the crash resulted from pilot error.
Sky News has reached out to PIA for a statement.
