PIA dismisses reports of detention of crew members at Heathrow Airport

Islamabad: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has dismissed reports about its crew members being detained at the Heathrow Airport, saying they had finished their duty hours after flying from Islamabad to London and stayed back in the country.

Geo News quoted a spokesperson for the national flag carrier as saying that the crew members, including the pilot who the British authorities claimed to have detained at the airport, were never scheduled to fly on PK-758 from London to Lahore in the first place.

He informed that flight PK-758 landed in Lahore earlier today accompanied with a new crew.

The spokesperson further said the crew members also had their passports with them.

The PIA management in London was trying to find out reasons behind the searching of the plane and reports of detention.

Earlier reports said that 14 crew members of a PIA flight were detained at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday night and later let off after the aircraft was thoroughly searched for over two hours post-landing.

The Dawn and the Express Tribune newspapers quoted PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar, as saying that Flight PK-785 from Islamabad to London arrived at Heathrow Airport at 2.50 p.m. on Monday, and after passengers disembarked, the flight crew and aircraft were searched by authorities.

It is yet not known why the crew was detained.

Tajwar said nothing was found on the plane, adding that the PIA plans to take up the case with the British aviation authorities.