Flight attendants constantly disappearing in Toronto with two cases this week alone

Yet another Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendant has “slipped away” following the arrival of the national flag carrier’s flight at Toronto Pearson International Airport, adding to the list of the airline’s staff that have reportedly disappeared in Canada over the past year. 

According to Pakistani news channel ARY News, PIA flight attendant Jibran Baloch was scheduled to return to Islamabad International Airport from Pearson Airport on Feb. 29.

However, when Baloch failed to show up for his return flight, a search of his room by staff revealed that he had “slipped away,” the outlet reported. 

Baloch was the second PIA cabin crew to vanish upon landing in Toronto in February. Flight attendant Maryam Raza also reportedly disappeared shortly after landing at Pearson Airport last month. 

Yet another flight attendant has vanished after landing in Toronto https://t.co/sWRakpvO8u

— blogTO (@blogTO) February 26, 2024

According to ARY News, her uniform was found in her room with a note that read, “Shukria PIA,” which translates to, “Thank you, PIA.” Raza was scheduled to depart Toronto on flight PK 784 to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. 

The growing list of missing PIA flight attendants in Canada has brought into question the national flag carrier’s job security and wages for crew members. 

Throughout 2023, at least six of the airline’s flight crew also disappeared shortly after landing in Toronto, including three flight attendants in December and two in November. 

#Breaking: Another PIA flight attendant goes missing in Canada this week#pakistan #pakistanpolitics #PIA #canada #pakistanairlines pic.twitter.com/j9IQAzVWXb

— Global Times Pakistan (@GlobalTimesPak) March 1, 2024

“There is no failure [on the part of the airline] as we have tried to put in the most stringent possible efforts to curtail that. However, the laws of Canada are so liberal that those measures become counter-effective,” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan previously told The Media Line.

“On the other hand, we are now seeking some legal measures against the perpetrators, involving law enforcement agencies.” 

While critics have correlated the influx of disappearances with fears of the airline’s privatization and low salaries, Khan said that the carrier is working to prevent similar incidents from happening by raising the minimum age for flight attendants travelling to Canada, as well as forming an investigative unit to handle the cases. 

Khan also argued that “crews seeking asylum are common throughout South Asia and other developing countries, therefore this situation is not exclusive to PIA.”