More than 20 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees and officers, including three women, have been implicated in a financial scam involving the unauthorised sale of premium and extra-legroom seats at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Official audit documents showed that ground staff collected additional payments from passengers for premium, extra-legroom and bulkhead seats on domestic and international flights but did not deposit the money into the airline’s accounts.
Instead, the employees allegedly altered the booking system records to show the seats as standard seats, allowing them to keep the extra charges.
The Lahore Finance and Audit Committee uncovered the irregularities while reviewing records for May 2024 and May 2025. Following the findings, Lahore Airport Station Manager Ashfaq Hussain Awan was directed to initiate formal action.
According to the documents, PIA recovered Rs5,060,269 (Rs 5M) through salary deductions from more than 20 employees and deposited the amount into the airline’s account.
However, the employees implicated in the case reportedly remain at their respective posts despite the recovery. Departmental disciplinary proceedings were required under PIA rules, but further administrative action was halted following interventions by senior officials.
In a separate incident, the Airports Security Force (ASF) cancelled a PIA staff member’s airport entry pass after he allegedly provided unauthorised protocol to a passenger at Lahore airport on May 9, 2026.
An ASF letter dated May 2026, available with a private media outlet, stated that the employee had facilitated a passenger at an immigration counter on a priority basis. The letter described the act as a violation of government instructions governing the use of airport entry passes.
Speaking to a private media outlet, Station Manager Ashfaq Hussain Awan said that PIA had recovered the money from the individuals concerned and deposited it into the airline’s account. He added that one of the employees had since retired.
Awan further stated that he had not received any formal communication from the competent authorities regarding disciplinary action against the staff members.
