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Pakistan Airline's tone deaf ad campaign invokes international ridicule

The poster shared by Pakistan International Airlines on X as part of their marketing campaign
The poster shared by Pakistan International Airlines on X as part of their marketing campaign
Written by Aparna Rawal

On  Jan 10th 2025 ,  a promotional advertisement shared by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) displaying an image of the airline carrier flying towards the Eiffel tower in Paris came under a scrutiny. The image captioned as “Paris, we’re coming today”, drew heavy criticism and comparisons with a 1979 PIA ad which showcased the shadow of a jetliner on the World Trade Centre.

The 1979 ad appeared to be fabrication of the events of 9/11 which became suggestive of Pakistan’s links to Osama bin Laden, who was believed to have been hiding in Pakistan post the fall of the twin towers.

The poster shared by Pakistan International Airlines on X as part of their marketing campaign
The poster shared by Pakistan International Airlines on X as part of their marketing campaign

The 1979 PIA ad had been promoting its New York/Paris and New York/London sectors in print media since 1972 (as shown in a New York magazine advertisement from that year), and the image displayed was indeed a PIA advertisement verified to be appearing in amongst several other publications, such as the French periodicals L’Expansion and the 19 March 1979 issue of Le Point. However, since the attack on the twin towers on 9th September in 2001, relations were drawn to the 1979 ad as a form of a foreboding for an incident which transpired 22 years later.

The recent ad by PIA covering Pakistani state carrier resuming its Europe operations with a flight to Paris, ending its four-year ban imposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) over flight safety concerns has now sparked controversies. EASA, United Kingdom and United States authorities had revoked permission for PIA to operate in the region in 2020. This was implemented after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots’ licenses, following a deadly plane crash involving Flight 8303 from Lahore to Karachi killing 97 people.

The other reason for restriction on PIA flights was also due to a warning issued to Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) about safety concerns. Prior to the Covid pandemic and the crash of Flight 8303, the airline operated to 17 routes in the EU and UK which included Barcelona in Spain; Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester in England, Copenhagen in Denmark, Milan Malpensa in Italy, Oslo in Norway and Paris in France.

In 2020, PIA offered 34 roundtrip services per week according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. Since the ban, British Airways became the sole provider of service between the UK and Pakistan. The ban on PIA resulted in a loss of nearly $150 million (€146 million) a year in revenue for PIA.

In August 2024, in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation chaired by Senator Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo in Parliament House, the matter of negligence by PIA on subject of air safety concerns had been addressed.

At the time, PIA remained banned from flying to Europe due to international regulatory air safety concerns. However, the PIA chief executive officer assured that the air safety concerns had already been addressed.

Reassurances were given of newly installed hi-tech camera at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, with capability of capturing an individual at a distance of 15km with the mobility for 360 degrees coverage. Additional reported equipment included 28 baggage scanning machines at airports while 39 additional machines were in process to be installed as well. Regardless of ironing out the fault lines in safety regulations and undertaking the required the precautionary measures, the recent marketing strategy to promote PIA at an International platform may have just proved to be counter productive and an abject failure for an already economically strapped PIA.

On 29th November 2024, EASA lifted the four-year ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from operating to Europe, this authorized PIA to resume commercial air transport operations to, from and within the EU.

The much-awaited decision was praised by Pakistan Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif, who called it a “big breakthrough for Pakistani airlines and the aviation industry.”

“The Ministry of Aviation and Civil Aviation, after many years of struggle and hard work, have fulfilled all the standards and audit requirements that were required to obtain the authorization from the European Union,” the minister said. However, the recent PIA marketing may have spilled milk over the much anticipated efforts.

At a session in the Pakistani parliament, recognizing the backlash from the advertisement Senator Sherry Rehman stated that the ad “cost the national airline its reputation,” as several analysts and security experts censuring Pakistan for the advertisement.

In response to Rehman, Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also reiterated “The cabinet, and the prime minister too, have ordered an inquiry into who conceived this ad”, calling it a mark of stupidity in displaying the Eiffel Tower.

Dar overcompensated by even suggesting alternative ways to portray the celebratory resumption of PIA flights to Paris. “They could have showed the aircraft above it [Eiffel Tower], stating ‘We are coming’,” he said. “You could have flipped the front of the plane.”

The debt-ridden PIA has been permitted to operate two weekly flights to Paris, on Fridays and Sundays, but continues to remains barred from flying to the United Kingdom and the United States.

While PIA covers several cities in Pakistan internally, the airline bears a history of unpaid bills, a poor safety record and regulations.

With the controversy around the PIA campaign, the government’s effort to privatize the airline may face challenges.

About the author

Aparna Rawal

Aparna Rawal is an independent research analyst and writer specializing in Af/Pak region and counter-terrorism. She was the former Editor-in-chief for Voice of Baloch. She possesses MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from Annamalai University, India.

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