A Pakistani flight steward slipped away after his flight landed in the Canadian city of Toronto, a media report said on Friday, a week after another cabin crew of the country’s flag carrier vanished, reportedly to claim citizenship of the country.
Jibran Baloch, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight steward performed duties on the PIA flight PK-782 on Thursday. However, he failed to turn up for duty on the return flight. Following a search of his hotel room by the PIA staff, it was revealed that he had slipped away, Geo News reported.
A PIA spokesperson identified the missing flight attendant and confirmed the incident.
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The spokesperson said that measures to stop the incidents of flight crew members going missing in the North American country have turned out “abortive”.
Citing sources at the flagship carrier, the report said that its decision to get flight staff to submit their passports to the officials also did not bear fruit.
Baloch went ‘missing’ in Canada allegedly to claim citizenship, the sources said.
The incident comes days after another PIA flight attendant went missing while on duty after landing in Canada.
On Monday, cabin crew member Maryam Raza arrived in Toronto on a PIA flight from Islamabad and failed to report for duty on the return flight to Karachi, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Authorities found Raza’s uniform in her hotel room with a note thanking the PIA.
According to the airlines’ spokesperson, Raza’s was the second such case this year. Baloch’s case takes to three the tally of a PIA flight attendants “vanishing” after landing in Canada.
Last year, the number of PIA stewards and air hostesses who sneaked away upon arrival in Canada was four, according to the PIA.
In 2022, four members of the PIA crew members had slipped away in the country.