Pakistan national airline apologises for ad showing plane flying into Eiffel Tower

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country's national carrier, has apologised for a social media advertisement depicting a plane flying into the Eiffel Tower.

The ad, posted on Jan. 10 to the airline's social media to commemorate the resumption of flights between Islamabad and Paris, was titled, "Paris, we're coming today".

And the airline followed up with the promise with its first flight in four-and-a-half years landing at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris the same day at 4:40pm (local time), according to Flightradar.

However, the post went viral for the wrong reasons, with users highlighting the insensitivity of such a post in the light of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

PIA's post on X has garnered over 21.3 million views as of Jan. 17.

'It is stupidity': Pakistan finance minister

According to Pakistani news outlet Profit, the controversy led Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif to call for an inquiry into the post.

This was confirmed by finance minister Ishaq Dar, who was addressing the matter during a parliamentary session.

“The prime minister has directed [authorities] to investigate who conceived this ad. It is stupidity,” Dar said.

Users also took to social media to provide suggestions on how the airline could have better conveyed its return to France.

Airline apologised

On Jan. 16, PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez apologised on behalf of the airline to those who felt hurt by the advertisement.

“We want to make it clear that we had no intention to hurt the feelings of anyone,” Hafeez told The Associated Press.

Hafeez said the ad was only ever meant to celebrate the airline's resumption of flights to Europe, and never intended to harm 9/11 survivors or victims’ families.

Hafeez added that the Eiffel Tower was shown in the ad because it is one of the best places in the world, and said he was "surprised" by the criticism the ad drew.

Not the first time

This is not the first time Pakistan's national carrier has been at the centre of controversy.

In 2017, the airline faced ridicule after its staff was seen sacrificing a goat on the tarmac to ward off evil, BBC reported.

In 2020, 97 died in a PIA plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan, which was attributed to human error, AP reported.

An investigation into the crash also found that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots had cheated on their pilot’s exams.

Top image from @Official_PIA/X