Travel News

Politicians Booted Off Plane by Passengers

pia incidentThere’s air rage. Then, there’s what happened in Pakistan earlier this week. First, a little background. Pakistan International Airways (PIA), the national airline of Pakistan, has a long-running reputation of some of the worst on-time performance of any carrier. But one of the continuing reasons for its late departures has less to do with mechanical problems, and very little to do with weather.

Instead, the airline is notorious for holding planes to accommodate late government officials and politicians. This week, it all boiled over when a former Interior Minister and a Pakistani lawmaker were blocked from boarding by fellow passengers.

The flight had already been delayed for two hours. As each man attempted to board the plane, angry passengers joined forces and effectively blocked ex-politician Rehman Malik from boarding and ejected Pakistani lawmaker Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani. This time, the passenger rage was recorded on video! Not just one video…but two.

One video shows passengers anxiously waiting at the plane’s entrance to the jet bridge for the arrival of Rehman Malik. Before his arrival, passengers can be heard saying to flight staff, “I demand you close the door now,” and, “How long will we put up with this nonsense in this country?” We then see Malik strolling down the jet bridge, only to abruptly swivel around on his heels and return to the VIP area upon seeing the angry mob, who yell out to him, “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

The other video highlights the confrontation with Vankwani, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, who, while not two hours late, was awarded the luxury of waiting in the VIP area for Malik while the rest of the passengers sat cramped and idle on the plane. Passengers tried to block his entrance on the plane as well, but Vankwani walked past them and sat down. The angry mob then followed him, ordering him to get out of the aircraft. When the passengers began to raise their voices, Vankwani finally rose and left the plane to a round of applause from the gratified travelers.

Details of whether the flight delay was actually caused by Malik are unclear. Malik claims he received a call from the airline informing him that the flight would be delayed for an hour and a half due to technical difficulties. He later blamed the drama on the airline, citing mismanagement, as well as a recent political protest that had been plaguing the country for weeks. He called the protesters and his plane aggressors “miscreants indulged in terrorism.” He is no longer in office (he resigned in 2013 after a refusal to give up his dual citizenship with Great Britain), but still embodies Pakistani bureaucratic entitlement and corruption in the eyes of Pakistani citizens.

Add these two videos to a growing number of “shaming” videos now online from passengers around the world showing really bad, rude, and insensitive airline passenger behavior.

Separately, the two Pakistani videos called attention to a more serious issue: traveler safety in Pakistan.

At the moment, the governments of Canada and the U.S. have warned against possible danger in recent travel bulletins, urging citizens to avoid all non-essential travel until the political turmoil has simmered.

The turmoil derives from a recent protest that involves thousands of Pakistanis—under the direction of opposition politicians Imran Khan and Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadr. They oppose the nation’s first democratically elected leader, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, under the allegation that the election may have been rigged. Several have already died in the protests, which don’t seem to have an end in sight.

Opposition leader Khan refuses to leave his protest camp until Prime Minister Sharif resigns. Sharif recently threatened to simply squash the protest: “Up until now, we have tolerated all this and acted with decency and patience… it’s no hard task for us to clear the way and clear the streets.”

Overall, tensions remain high. There were 355 terrorist-related incidents in 2013 in various parts of Pakistan. Karachi’s airport itself, Jinnah International Airport, is no stranger to deadly events. Just this past June, 10 armed militants with links to Al-Qaeda charged the international hub, resulting in 36 deaths (including the 10 attackers).

If you must go to Pakistan, the U.S. State Department strongly suggests that you leave little room for error by double and triple checking to make sure all travel documents are up-to-date. U.S. travelers without valid paperwork are potentially subject to interrogation and detention.

The U.S. Embassy stresses—and we also remind you—that the U.S. government can often do little to help detained Americans. Enrolling with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad or the Consulates General in Karachi, Lahore, or Peshawar is also recommended. But again, there are no guarantees of protection while in the country or help in leaving the country if things deteriorate.

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By Brittany Malooly for PeterGreenberg.com