In an interesting development, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Islamabad-bound flight got delayed by 30 hours because the pilot refused to fly the plane outside duty hours.
The incident occurred on Sunday, when PIA’s PK-9754, which was en route from Riyadh to Islamabad, landed in Dammam due to bad weather.
However, despite getting weather clearance, the pilot refused to fly the plane because his duty hours had ended. Hence, the plane was rerouted to Riyadh.
The situation led to an outcry from passengers who were already frustrated by the uncalled-for delay. They started arguing with the pilot and refused to get off the plane in protest. Subsequently, the airport security was called in to handle the situation.
Commenting on the development, the PIA spokesperson said that the flight was made to land in Dammam due to the bad weather.
“And when, at last, the weather became normal, the pilot refused to fly, saying his duty hours were over,” the spokesperson said. “Hence, instead of heading towards Islamabad the plane was rerouted to Riyadh, where the passengers refused to disembark in protest,” he added.
The spokesperson added that it is necessary for the pilots to take proper rest before flying for flight safety, so arrangements were made in this regard.
Salute to our civilian pilots…