Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has come under fire following the release of a promotional graphic intended to highlight its renewed flights to Paris.
The ad, shared on X (formerly Twitter) on 10 January 2025, depicted a passenger jet flying towards the Eiffel Tower, accompanied by the tagline: “Paris, we’re coming today.”
The image quickly sparked outrage on social media, with many users drawing comparisons to the 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center. One user wrote, “Fire your marketing manager,” while another questioned the ad’s concept, asking, “Who thought this ad was a good idea?”
Omar Quraishi, a former media adviser to Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, also criticised the airline’s marketing, writing on X, “Did the airline management not vet this? Did the idiot who designed this graphic not see a PIA plane heading for the Eiffel Tower? One of Europe’s iconic landmarks.” He added, “Truly speechless,” and noted that the ad was still live at the time of his post.
In response to the controversy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reportedly ordered an inquiry into how the ad was approved.
Despite the backlash, PIA’s first flight from Islamabad to Paris in over four years landed safely on 11 January 2025. The airline confirmed the flight was welcomed by airport workers, with the plane featuring “commemorative decals.”
This incident follows previous controversies involving PIA, including a 2019 crackdown on cabin crew weight and a 2020 investigation revealing that hundreds of pilots held fake licenses.