News | International
7 Feb 2025 2:23
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > International

    Pakistan International Airlines says sorry over Eiffel Tower advert marking return of flights to Paris

    Pakistan's national airline has apologised for the advertisement, which is still online more than a week after it was first posted.


    Pakistan's embattled national airline has apologised for an advert of a plane flying at the Eiffel Tower, published to mark the first flight to Paris after a safety ban was lifted.

    The image posted by state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to social media shows a plane aimed at the French landmark with the caption "Paris, we're coming today".

    It was first published on January 10 to PIA's official X account, where it remains.

    In thousands of comments online, users drew comparisons with the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York's Twin Towers, when two planes were hijacked and flown into the skyscrapers, killing nearly 3,000.

    Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by US special forces in 2011, while a Pakistani militant currently held in Guantanamo Bay is considered the chief mastermind of the attack.

    "Unfortunately, this was blown out of proportion with connotations and perceptions that were not intended," PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan told AFP.

    "It might have triggered some negative emotion, for which we truly apologise."

    He said there were around 60,00 to 70,000 negative reactions online, or less than 10 per cent of engagement.

    "Is this (an) advertisement or threat?" said one post under the advert.

    "I'd have a word with your marketing department on this one chief," said another.

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the prime minister has ordered an inquiry into the advert which "shows stupidity".

    But Mr Khan said the response to PIA's return to Europe has been "extremely positive", with flights so far operating at more than 95 per cent capacity.

    Airline's history of scandals

    Debt-ridden PIA was banned in June 2020 from flying to the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.

    The disaster was attributed to human error by the pilots and air traffic control, and was followed by allegations that nearly a third of the licences for its pilots were fake or dubious.

    In 2016, a PIA plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed during a flight from the remote north to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

    In November, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced it had lifted the ban, however it remains barred from flying in the UK and the United States.

    At the time, it said it had "re-established sufficient confidence" in the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority's oversight capabilities.

    The airline flies to multiple cities inside Pakistan, including the mountainous north, as well as to the Gulf and Southeast Asia.

    AFP/ABC


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other International News
     06 Feb: Waitangi Day in New Zealand overshadowed by treaty controversy
     06 Feb: How Trump's tariffs on China delivered a 'double-whammy' to Temu and Shein
     06 Feb: The CIA is offering buyouts to every employee. Here's what's going on
     06 Feb: Tiger and boar rescued from well in India after wild chase gone wrong
     06 Feb: Multiple Neil Gaiman projects cancelled after eight women accuse author of abuse
     06 Feb: Sam Kerr felt police treatment was different due to her skin colour, court hears
     06 Feb: Middle East leaders, Palestinians respond to Donald Trump's Gaza plan
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Bragging rights for the Highlanders over their near neighbours in Super Rugby Pacific More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    It's been a busy first half for one of the Wellington Phoenix's Japanese imports ... and the Video Assistant Referee ... in their A-League football home game against the Brisbane Roar More...



     Today's News

    Rugby League:
    Warriors utility Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been ruled out of tonight's NRL trial clash against the Cronulla Sharks in Sydney 1:17

    Politics:
    Police say they're pleased with Waitangi Day celebrations, with no major problems and no arrests 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Sir Brian May feared he'd never play guitar again after suffering a stroke 21:34

    Cricket:
    In domestic cricket ... some tight bowling at the death has taken Canterbury to a one-run win over the Otago Volts in Dunedin, in the Ford Trophy one-day men's competition 21:17

    Rugby:
    Bragging rights for the Highlanders over their near neighbours in Super Rugby Pacific 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Christie Brinkley is releasing a memoir 21:04

    Entertainment:
    Allison Holker believes Stephen 'tWitch' Boss "wasn't the same" after embarking on an "ayahuasca journey" 20:34

    Law and Order:
    Five people have been arrested at a Wellington property, after a person was reportedly threatened with a firearm 20:27

    Entertainment:
    Travis Kelce played coy when quizzed on his plans to propose to Taylor Swift 20:04

    Entertainment:
    Marcus Jordan has been arrested and charged with cocaine possession, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest 19:34


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd